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I  mSoISgical  seminary^^ 

(k  Princeton,  N.  J-TZV-®* 


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CHRISTIANITY 


REVIVED  IN  THE  EAST; 


OR, 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  WORK  OF  GOD  AMOXG  THE 
ARMENIANS  OF  TURKEY. 


H.    G-.    0.    DWiaHT, 


MISSIO.NAUY     OF     THE    AMERICAN    BOARD     OF    COMMISSIONERS     FOR     FOREiGI* 

MISSIONS. 


NEW  YORK: 
r>  A  K  E  R    AND    S  C  R  I  B  N  E  R , 

145    NASSAU   STREET   AND   36   PARK    ROW. 

1850 


I'.ntcred  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1850,  by 
BAKER    AND    SCRIBNER, 

In  the  Clerk "s  Office  of  tlie  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 
District  ot  New  York. 


C .     W  .     BENEDICT, 

S  t  e  r  e  0  t  1/  p  e  r^ 

•iOl  Will  am  st ,  N.  Y. 


Ife     % 


PREFACE. 

The  author  of  the  following  narrative  has  been  connected  with 
the  mission  to  the  Armenians  of  Turkey,  from  its  very  first  estab- 
lishment. He  has  aimed  to  give  a  simple  narrative  of  facts,  leaving 
the  reader,  for  the  most  part,  to  draw  his  own  inferences,  and 
make  his  own  reflections.  He  has  taken  special  satisfaction  in 
tracing  the  remarkable  interpositions  of  an  over-ruling  Provi- 
dence, in  counteracting  the  designs  of  evil-minded  men  j  bringing 
good  out  of  evil ;  and  raising  up  deliverers  for  his  down-stricken 
people.  Truly  God  has  ''  made  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him, 
and  the  remainder  thereof  he  has  restrained." 

This  book  is  a  narrative  of  only  the  beginnings  of  a  great  work 
of  reform,  that  is  still  going  on  in  the  Armenian  Church.  The 
attention  of  many  Christians  in  America,  as  well  as  in  Europe, 
has  been  for  years  directed  to  this  work  ;  and  their  interest  has 
been  so  much  excited  by  its  somewhat  rapid  developments,  that 
the  preparation  of  such  a  volume  as  the  one  now  offered  to  the 
public,  seemed  fully  justified.  May  it  go  forth  with  the  blessing 
of  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church,  whose  wisdom,  power,  and 
glory  it  is  designed  to  illustrate. 


IV  PREFACE. 

The  Armenian  language,  as  it  was  spoken  in  the  early  ages  of 
the  Christian  era,  has  now  become  a  dead  language.  It  is  the 
language  of  their  Church  books,  and  of  most  of  their  literature. 
The  modern  Armenian  tongue,  which  is  capable  of  a  general 
division  into  two  distinct  dialects, — the  Eastern  and  Western, — 
is  based  upon  the  ancient,  but  greatly  corrupted  with  Turkish 
words,  and  Turkish  idioms.  It  is  the  language  of  their  firesides, 
and  of  their  social  and  religious  intercourse.  The  language  of 
business,  with  the  Armenians,  and  of  communication  with  the 
other  races  around  them,  is  the  Turkish.  In  certain  sections  of 
the  country,  they  have  entirely  lost  the  use  of  their  vernacular 
tongue,  and  speak  only  the  Turkish.  Hence  a  portion  of  our 
books  are  printed  in  the  Armeno-Turkish  language,  which  is  no- 
thing more  than  the  Turkish,  written  in  the  Armenian  character. 
Hence  also,  the  preaching  of  a  portion  of  the  missionaries  is  in  the 
Turkish  language. 

The  orthography  of  proper  names  in  tiVis  volume  has  been 
adapted  to  that  of  the  Syrian  Mission.  The  vowels  are  to  be 
pronounced  according  to  the  French,  with  the  exception  of  the  u. 
This  letter  with  a  mark  over  it  thus  {u)  is  to  be  sounded  like  oo 
in  cool ;  and  without  the  mark  generally  like  the  French  u.  In 
the  word  Keuy  (village), — sometimes  elsewhere  spelled  Koy^ — 
the  dipthong  eu  has  almost  exactly  the  sound  of  the  French  eu 
and  jpeu.  Gh  and  kh  are  gutturals  for  which  we  have  no  expres- 
sion in  the  English  or  French  alphabets. 

Certain  words  are  used  which  need  explanation.  A  vartahed 
is  a  monk  in  priest's  orders.  His  office,  in  distinction  from  that 
of  the  common  priest,  is  that  of  preacher.  The  word  Der 
affixed  to  a  name,  denotes  that  the  individual  is  a  priest.  Its 
literal   meaning  is  lord^  and  it  is  equivalent  to  Domine  as  used 


PREFACE. 


among  the  Hollanders.  A  Khan  is  a  building,  usually  square, 
with  an  open  court  in  the  centre,  and  divided  into  small  rooms, 
which  are  let  to  merchants  and  travellers.  The  hazars  are  lines 
of  stalls  open  in  front,  and  covered  with  a  roof,  in  which  mer- 
chandize is  sold. 


I 


m 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

'  Page 

Conversion  of  the  Arnnenian  Nation  to  Christianity — Questionable 
Purity  of  the  Original  Armenian  Church — Affinities  with  Rome 
— Prominent  Errors — Necessity  of  a  Reformation — Object  of  this 
Work — Enlightened  Priest  of  the  last  Century— Early  Efforts  of 
Bible  Societies — Extensive  Distribution  of  the  Scriptures — Transla- 
tion into  the  vernacular  Dialect — Hostility  of  the  Patriarch  to  the 
same — Armenian  Pilgrims  in  Palestine — Conversion  of  three  Eccle- 
siastics— Mr.  King's  Letter  in  Constantinople — Peshtimaljian  and  • 
his  School — Preparation  of  Mind — Probability  of  Piety — Readiness 
of  Common  People  to  Reform — Evidence  of  the  Work  of  God's 
Spirit, 1 


CHAPTER  H. 

Exploring  Tour — Mr.  Goodell's  removal  to  Constantinople — Interview 
with  Patriarch — Arrival  of  Messrs.  Dwight  and  Schauffler — Obsta- 
cles— Schools  and  Preaching — Intercourse  with  the  Clergy — Pesti- 
lence and  War — First  Inquirer  and  Convert — Opposition — Good 
from  Evil — Ordination  of  Priests — Der  Kevork — Removal  of  Press 
to  Smyrna — Tokens  of  the  Spirit's  presence — High  School — Arrival 
of  Messrs.  Schneider  and  Johnston — Station  opened  at  Brusa — Do. 
at  Trebizond — Prosperity  at  Constantinople — Friendly  intercourse 
with  the  Clergy — Character  of  Patriarch  and  his  Vicar — Opposition 
to  High  School — Bishop  Matteos — Arrival  of  Mr.  Powers — Book 
Distribution — Ecclesiastical  Inquirer — Friendly  Vartabed — Evan- 
gelical Sermons — Hostile  Manifestation — Romish  Influence — Char- 
acter of  the  Work — Female  Education — ^lissionary  Tours — Arrival 
of  Mr.  Jackson,  . 19 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  III. 

Page 
Opposition  of  the  Hierarchy — Their  Character — Influence  of  the  • 
Baiilcers— Breakin^r  up  of  the  High  School— School  at  Has  Keuy — 
Remarkable  Providence — Influence  of  the  New  School — Light 
Spreading — Perplexity  of  Priests — Opposition  Increasing — Friendly 
Vartabed — Missionary  Convention — The  Plague — Reinoval  of  Pic- 
tures— Decline  of  the  Has  Keuy  School — Origin  of  the  Work  in 
Nicomedia— Two  Converted  Priests— Divine  Influences  at  Broosa 
and  Tiebizond— Arrival  of  Mr.  Riggs, 49 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Origin  and  Nature  of  the  Armenian  Patriarchal  Power — Power  of  the 
Primates — The  Sultan  enlisted  as  a  Persecutor — The  Missionaries 
and  Native  Helpers  Calumniated — New  Patriarch  Appointed — Or-  . 
ganized  Persecution — The  Armenian  Patriarchal  Power  always 
Persecuting — Two  Brethren  Exiled — Interesting  Scene  at  Nicome- 
dia— Cruelties  of  a  Turkish  Policeman — Reception  at  Kaisery — 
Fears  at  the  Capitol — Evangelical  Books  Prohibited — Banishment  of 
a  Pious  Priest — Reign  of  Terror — Patriarch's  Bull — Combination  of 
Persecutors — Wonderful  Providence — Death  of  MahmOd  II. — Per- 
secutors Relenting — Sultan's  Physician — Persecution  in  Broosa — 
Violence  at  Trebizond — New  Station  at  Erzrum — Arrival  of  Mr. 
Hamlin, 68 


CHAPTER  V. 

Interesting  Season  of  Prayer — Persecution  Overruled  for  good — Inter- 
course Resumed — Judgments  upon  Persecutors — Charter  of  Rights — 
Influence  of  Bankers  curtailed — Greek  Patriarch  Removed — Folly  of 
the  Armenian  Patriarch— His  Resignation — Appointment  of  Stepan — 
Return  from  Exile  of  Mr.  Sahakian — Evangelical  Priests — Salvation 
by  Grace — An  Evangelical  Confessor — Inquirers  Multiplying — A 
Persecutor  Awakened — Opening  a  Room  in  the  City  Proper — Re- 
moval of  Book  Depository — Public  Preaching — Seminary  at  Bebek — 
■  Charges  against  Mr.  Hamlin — Visit  to  Nicomedia — Interesting  Char- 


•* 


CONTENTS.  IX 

Page 
acter  of  the  Converts — The  Gospel  carried  to  Adabazar — Effects  of 
Ecclesiastical  Tyrrany  overruled  for  good— Reaction  in  Brusa  and  Tre- 
bizond — Happy  Death — Obstacles  at  Erzrum — Printing  in  Smyrna 
— Providence  Removing  Difficulties — Testimony  of  an  Enemy — 
Change  in  Armenian  Style  of  Preaching — Deep  Feeling — Activity 
of  Priest  Vertanes — Progress  at  Nicomedia  and  Adabazar — Influence 
of  a  Tract — Mr.  Schneider's  Visit — Public  Preaching — Book  Distrir 
bution — Imbecile  Efforts  against  the  Bebek  Seminary — God  Watch- 
ing over  his  Church,  .  .  .         .  ....  86 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Rupture  between  the  Bankers  and  Tradesmen — The  Clergy  despised 
by  the  People — Appointment  of  two  Committees — Removal  of  the 
Patriarch — Appointment  of  Asduadzadur — His  Character — Enlight- 
ened Vicar — Increase  of  the  Church — Spirituality — Prayer — A  Var- 
tabed  Convicted— An  Ascetic  Converted  to  Christ — Visits   at  the 
Khan — Hearers  from  the  Interior — Monthly  Concert  of  Prayer — 
First  Native  Mission — Care  for  the  Jews — Female  Inquirers — Co- 
laborers — Extensive  Demand  for  Books — Mr.  GoodelPs  Translation    • 
of  the  Old  Testament  Completed — Love  of  the  Bible — Book  against 
Protestantism — Enemies    of   the    Seminary    made    Friends — Mr.    ^ 
Wood's  Arrival — Influence  of  the  Seminary — Disaffected  Brethren 
— New  Inquirers  at  Brusa — Arrival  of  Mr.  Ladd — Hostile  Bishop —    . 
Evangelical  Influences  in  Trebizond — Inquiring  Priest  at  Erzrum — 
Arrival  of  3Ir.  Peabody — Violence  of  the  Bishop — Enemies  turned    • 
to  Friends  in  Adabazar — New  Impulse  in  Nicomedia — Religious  In- 
quiry in  Smyrna,         .........         112 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

An  Execution— Story  of  a  Renegade — Insult  to  the  British  Embassy 
—Pledge  of  Religious  Liberty — The  Hand  of  Providence— Extent 
of  the  Work  of  Reform— Trials  for  the  Gospel — Spirit  of  Inquiry 
Spreading — Visit  of  Drs.  Anderson  and  Hawes — Abandonment  of 
the  Greek  Mission — Religious  Influence  of  the  Seminary — Females 
Awakened — Conversion  of  a  Nun — Female  Seminary  Opened — 
Patriarch  Removed  and  Matteos  Appointed — Persecution  of  Priest 
1* 


CONTENTS. 

rag« 
Vertanes — Character  oi  Matleos  Patriarch — His  Policy  toward  the 
Protestants — Persecution  Resolved  upon — Business  Interfered  with 
— Bedros  Vartabed  Driven  av^-ay — His  Labors  and  Death — Priest 
Vertanes'  Second  Exile — Cruel  Treatment  of  Mr.  Tateos — Deliver- 
ance from  Imprisonment — Assaults  on  the  Seminary — Discussion 
and  its  Fruits — Public  Debates — Cogency  of  Stoning — Papal  Books 
— Picture  of  a  Jesuit — Colporteurs — Popery  Counteracted — Censor- 
ship of  the  Press — Temperance  Society — Happy  Deaths — Death  of 
Mrs.  Van  Lennep, 135 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Cruelty  of  the  Bishop  of  Erzrum — Good  from  Evil — Enlightened 
Prelates  the  worst  Persecutors — Central  Position  of  Erzrum — Truth 
Spreading  in  the  Villages — Prosperity  at  Trebizond — Death  of  a 
Believer — Shameful  Burials — Vacillating  Ecclesiastic — Boghos  the 
Persecutor — Measures  of  Coercion — Arrest  of  Protestants — House 
of  Mr.  Bliss  Stoned — Evil  Effects  of  Persecution — Influence  of  Tre- 
bizond on  the  Interior — Just  Views  Preva'.ling  at  Brusa — A  Hermit 
Converted — Progiess  at  BrQsaand  its  Villages — ^Missionary  Tours  to 
Nicomedia  and  Adabazar — A  Persecutor  Converted — Deep  Earnest- 
ness— Instances  of  Persecution — Do.  at  Kurdbeleng — Pious  English 
Families  at  Nicomedia — Death  of  Mr.  Mugurdich  and  Mr.  Sarkis  in 
Smyrna — Vartabed  from  Tarsus — Mr.  Van  Lennep  at  Tocal,       .  163 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Relation  of  the  Evangelical  Armenians  to  the  Church — Their  Duties 
to  the  Civil  Community — The  Patriarch  a  Civil  Officei— The  Pro- 
testants Obedient  to  the  Powers  that  be — New  Method  of  Coercion 
— Anathema  of  Priest  Vertanes — Denunciations  of  the  Patriarch — 
Temporal  Penalties  Inflicted — Fanaticism  Triumphant — Second 
Anathema — Paper  of  Recantation — Patriarch's  New  Creed — Instan- 
ces of  Oppression — Bread  and  Water  wuthheld  from  Protestants — 
Signatures  to  the  New  Creed — Interview  between  Mr.  Khachadu- 
rian  and  the  Patriarch — God  Supporting  his  People — Estimate  placed 
upon  the  Gospel — Visitors  increase  by  Persecution — Letter  to  the 
Patriarch— Do.  to  the  Primates— Petition  to  Reshid  Pasha— Do.  to 


CONTENTS.  Xi 

Vagv 
the  Foreign  Ambassadors — Four  Individuals  Imprisoned — Attempt 

to  Banish  Protestants — Religious  Liberty  Proclaimed  by  the  Govern- 
ment— Release  of  the  Prisoners — All  Protestants  Calumniated — 
False  Witnesses — Shelter  Procured  for  the  Houseless — Kindness  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Allan — Generous  Contributions,     ....         183 


CHAPTER  X. 

Duplicity  of  the  Patriarch — Encouraged  by  Bishop  Southgate — The 
Evangelical  Brethren  Calumniated — The  Patriarch  Defended — Vio- 
lence in  Nicomedia — God  hearing  the  cries  of  the  Oppressed — 
Priest  Harutun  in  Persecution — His  Letter  to  the  Bishop — Shameful 
Treatment  in  Church — His  Imprisonment — Accumulation  of  Indig- 
nities— His  Joy  in  God — Mournful  Fall  of  other  Brethren — Their 
Return — Steadfastness  of  Believers  in  Adabazar — Mr.  Van  Lennep's 
Visit — The  Enemy  Stimulated  Afresh — Grievous  Trials — General 
Spirit  of  Persecution — Outrage  upon  two  Brothers  in  Trebizond — 
Faithful  Endurance — Young  Man  Scourged  and  Imprisoned — Inter- 
vention of  the  British  Consul — Bishop  of  Erzrum  Banished — Bod- 
ily Inflictions — The  Persecutors  Checked — All  Eyes  turned  to  the 
Capital — Sir  Stratford  Canning — Religious  Liberty  for  the  Protest- 
ants— The  Patriarch's  Cunning — First  Imperial  Document  in  behalf 
of  Prote.«;tants — Hostility  a  blessing  to  the  Seminary — Ptemoval  to 
Constantinople  of  jVIr.  and  Mrs.  Everett — Standing  and  Perpetual 
Curse — Plan  of  Church  Organization — An  Evangelical  Church  Con- 
stituted— Ordination  of  First  Pastor — His  Character — Public  Declar- 
ation of  the  Protestants — Churches  Formed  in  Nicomedia,  Adabazar, 
and  Trebizond — Mohammedans  Befriend  the  Persecuted,  210 


CHAPTER  XL 

Slow  Progress  of  Religious  Liberty — Covert  Methods  of  Persecution — 
Imprisonment  of  Stepan — Attempt  to  Close  Protestant  Chapel — 
Mobs — Redress  from  Government — Anomalous  Position  of  the 
Protectants — Gradual  Amelioration — Protestant  Funeral — Growth  of 
the  Community — Female  Field — Death  of  Oscan — Do.  of  Hovsep— 
Do.  of  the  First  Pastor — His  Dying  Testimony— Ordinations — New 
Scene  in   Nicomedia — ]\Iissionary   Tours — Beginning   of    Light  at 


CONTENTS. 

Page 
Ainlab — Arrival  of  INIr.  Bliss — Lord  Cowley's  Agency — The  Pro- 
testants Recognized  as  a  Community — Day  of  Thanksgiving  and 
Prayer — New  Impulse  to  the  Work — Awakening  at  Geghi — Do.  at 
Aintab — Station  at  Aintab  Occupied — Arrival  of  Mr.  Crane — Col- 
porteurs— Urgent  appeals — Mr.  Sahakian  Ordained — Mr.  KhachadCir 
Licensed — Burying-Ground  in  Trebizond — Preservation  of  the  Pera 
Chapel — Degradation  of  Matteos  Patriarch,         ....         235 


CHAPTER  Xn. 

The  two  Conflicting  Parties — Preaching  Christ — Character  of  Native 
Pastors— Male  and  Female  Seminaries — The  Press— Native  Churches 
Self-Supporting — Working  of  the  System — Character  of  Church 
Members — Present  Aspect  of  the  Work — State  of  the  Armenian 
Church — Crisis  Approaching — Anticipations  of  the  Future,         .        259 


^2*i<i;3T. 


■©GlCir, 


CHRISTIANITY  REVIVED  IN  THE  EAST. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Conversion  of  the  Armenian  nation  to  Christianity — Questionable  purity  of 

the  original  Armenian    Church Affinities   with  Rome  —  Prominent 

errors — Necessity  of  a  reform — Object  of  this  work — Enlightened  priest 
of  the  last  century — Early  efforts  of  Bible  Societies — Extensive  distribu- 
tion of  the  Scriptures — Translation  into  the  vernacular  dialects — Hostility 
of  the  Patriarch  to  the  same — Armenian  pilgrims  in  Palestine — Conver- 
sion of  three  ecclesiastics — Mr.  King's  letter  in  Constantinople — Peshti- 
maljian  and  his  school — Preparation  of  mind — Probability  of  piety  in  the 
Church — Readiness  of  the  people  to  reform — Evidence  of  the  w^ork  of  God's 
Spirit. 

More  than  three  hundred  years  had  elapsed  from  the 
birth  of  Christ,  before  the  Armenian  people  adopted 
Chistianity  as  their  national  religion.  Up  to  that  period 
they  had  practised  the  grossest  forms  of  heathen  idolatry. 
True,  Armenian  historians  record  the  conversion  of  their 
king,  Abgar  by  name,  who  was  a  cotemporary  with 
Christ ;  and  they  affirm,  that  subsequently,  through  the 
instrumentality  of  the  Apostles,  Thaddeus  and  Bartholo- 
mew,— the  latter  bearing  about  with  him  a  portrait  of 
the  Virgin  Mary(!) — multitudes  in  the  Armenian  nation 
were  brought  over  to  the  Christian  faith.  But,  whether 
this  account  be  true  or  false  in  its  main  features,  it  is 
indubitably  certain  that  idolatry  reigned  with  undisputed 
sway  over  this  people,  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  cen- 


2  EARLY    COUIiri'TION    OV    THE    ARMENIAN    CHURCH. 

tury ;  and  that  about  the  year  318,  through  the  zealous 
labors  of  Krikor  Lusavorich,  heathenism  was  abolished, 
and  Christianity  publicly  and  universally  established  in 
its  place. 

Already,  however,  had  human  inventions  begun  to 
multiply  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  the  religion  of 
forms  to  overlay  the  religion  of  the  heart.  So  that,  while 
it  cannot  be  doubted  that  many  were  really  made  wise 
unto  salvation,  it  is  still  mournfully  true  that  there  was 
much  "  wood,  hay,  and  stubble"  mixed  up  with  the  very 
first  foundations  of  the  Armenian  Church.  History 
records  that  Krikor,  or  Grregory  as  he  is  called  in  English, 
"  consecrated  four  hundred  bishops,  and  an  immense 
number  of  priests ;  and  erected  various  churches,  con- 
vents, nunneries,  hospitals  and  schools.  He  also  insti- 
tuted religious  feasts,  and  other  ecclesiastical  ceremonies, 
and  diffused  the  light  of  the  gospel  throughout  the  land." 
The  religious  institutions  and  observances  here  referred 
to,  had  not  then  become  what  subsequent  ages  of  degen- 
eracy made  them,  but,  while  we  yield  to  Armenian 
Christianity,  in  its  first  and  purest  age,  all  the  advantage 
it  can  reasonably  claim  from  this  consideration,  it  is  still 
true,  that  even  that  age  was  characterized  by  strong 
symptoms  of  religious  decline,  and  approaching  apostacy. 
The  apostles  of  Jesus  Christ  founded  no  "convents,"  or 
"nunneries;"  neither  did  they  institute  "religious  feasts," 
or  "  ecclesiastical  ceremonies."  It  is  a  remarkable  fact, 
that  the  most  ancient  books  of  theology,  as  well  as  the 
most  ancient  liturgies  of  the  Armenian  Church  are 
strongly  tainted  with  error.  It  is  indeed  doubtful, 
whether,  even  among  the  first  and  best  teachers  of  this 
Church,  there  ever  was  a  perfectly  clear  discrimination 


AFFINITIES    WITH    ROME. 


between  the  religion  of  man  and  the  religion  of  Grod; 
between  purchasing  salvation  by  observances  and  penances, 
and  receiving  it  as  a  free  gift  from  Heaven,  And  the  Ar- 
menian Church,  receiving  thus  in  its  beginnings  only  an 
obscured  Christianity,  most  easily  followed  the  degenerat- 
ing tendencies  of  the  age  ;  until  at  length  it  settled  down 
permanently  into  hierarchism  and  formalism;  or  the  reli- 
gion of  the  priest  and  the  religion  of  the  ritual.  In  forms 
and  in  doctrines,  the  Armenian,  the  G-reek,  and  the  Roman 
churches  are  essentially  one.  In  each  of  them  the  priests 
and  the  sacraments  in  a  great  measure  take  the  place  of 
Christ ;  and  with  this  grand,  distinctive  feature  alike  in 
them  all,  who  can  feel  that  anything  important  attaches 
itself  to  the  inquiry  whether  one  holds  a  sacrament  more 
or  less  than  the  other  ?  or  has  a  saint  more  or  less  on  the 
calendar?  or  whether  they  choose  to  make  images  of 
the  latter,  by  the  painter's  brush  on  a  flat  piece  of  can- 
vass, or  by  the  sculptor's  tool  out  of  a  block  of  marble, 
or  a  piece  of  molten  brass  ? 

It  is  painful  to  witness  in  the  book  of  common  prayer 
in  this  Church,  how  constantly  the  name  of  Jesus  as 
mediator  is  excluded,  and  the  name  of  Mary,  or  some 
other  saint,  substituted  in  its  place.  As  might  be 
expected,  the  poor  people  are  found  continually  calling 
upon  the  Virgin,  but  never  upon  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  inter- 
cede for  them.  In  this  respect,  indeed,  the  Armenians 
appear  to  hold  even  a  lower  place  in  the  scale  than  either 
the  Greeks  or  the  Latins  ;  for  the  latter,  have  only  dis- 
honored Christ  by  associating  with  him  a  multitude  of 
other  mediators,  while  the  former  seem  to  have  excluded 
him  altogether  from  the  mediatorial  oflice.  Auricular 
confession ;  absolution  from  sin  by  the  priest ;  penance ; 


4  REFORMATION    NEEDED. 

transubstantiation  ;  baptismal  regeneration  ;  intercession 
of  the  saints  and  angels ;  worship  of  the  material  cross, 
of  relics,  and  of  pictures ;  and  prayers  for  the  dead ;  all 
belong  as  much  to  the  Armenian  Church  as  to  the  Roman. 
True,  no  general  Armenian  council  has  been  held,  to  col- 
lect and  engross,  by  formal  vote,  these  and  the  other 
articles  of  their  faith  and  practice  ;  but  the  errors  j  ust  as 
really  exist,  and  are  as  truly  received  by  the  Church,  as 
if  circumstances  had  called  for,  or  permitted,  their  formal 
sanction  by  such  a  council.  This  is  just  as  clearly  true 
as  that  the  false  doctrines  of  Rome  were  really  and  truly 
the  doctrines  of  that  Church,  long  before  the  Council  of 
Trent  collected  them  in  form,  and  published  them  to  the 
world ! 

Nothing  can  be  plainer,  than  that  a  church  in  which 
the  true  gospel  scheme  of  salvation  is  so  entirely  overlaid 
and  lost  by  human  inventions,  needs  a  thorough  reforma- 
tion. And  when  it  is  remembered  that  millions  of  Mo- 
hammedans, (to  say  nothing  of  the  Jews,)  in  the  very 
midst  of  whom  this  degenerate  Church  is  found,  are 
deriving  their  only  notions  of  Christianity  from  its  false 
doctrines  and  practices,  and  in  consequence  of  the  strong 
prejudices  they  thus  acquire,  are  placed  almost  beyond 
the  possibility  of  being  benefited  by  any  Christian  effort 
in  their  behalf,  does  it  not  seem  to  be  the  obvious  duty 
of  evangelical  Christians  to  do  what  they  '^an  to  remove 
this  stumbling  block  out  of  the  way.  Though  living  in 
other  portions  of  the  globe,  they,  too,  are  involved  in  the 
common  disgrace,  may  we  not  say  the  sin,  of  thus  repel- 
ling the  nations  from  Christ,  by  the  exhibition  to  them  of 
a  miserable  counterfeit  of  Christianity,  instead  of  its 
truth  ;  and  how  can  they  better  repair  the  evil,  than  by 


ENLIGHTENED    PRIEST    OF    THE    LAST    CENTURY.  5 

laboring,  first  of  all,  to  persuade  that  degenerate  Church, 
to  return  to  the  simplicity  and  purity  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ  ? 

It  is  the  object  of  the  present  work  to  record  the  prin- 
cipal circumstances  of  the  beginning  of  a  reformation, 
which  is  still  in  progress  in  the  Armenian  Church,  and 
which,  it  is  hoped,  will  not  cease,  until  the  whole  body 
is  cleansed  from  its  multiform  errors,  and  brought  entirely 
back  to  its  allegiance  to  Christ.  This  reformation,  it  will 
be  seen,  has  been  commenced  and  carried  forward  to  its 
present  point,  chiefly  through  the  instrumentality  of 
missionaries  of  the  American  Board  of  Commission- 
ers for  Foreign  Missions.  A  faithful  account  of  this 
work  involves  the  presentation  of  some  dark  pictures  of 
human  depravity.  It  could  not  be  expected  that  without 
an  opposing  effort,  Satan  would  relinquish  ground,  of 
which  he  had  retained  undisputed  possession  for  so  many 
centuries.  And  in  tracing  the  doings  of  God  in  this  his- 
tory, we  must  trace  the  counter-doings  of  man.  In 
developing  the  work  of  the  divine  Spirit  in  enlightening 
men,  convincing  them  of  sin,  and  leading  them  to  repent* 
ance,  we  must  also  develop  the  desperate  struggles  of 
the  great  adversary  of  souls,  through  his  emissaries,  in 
opposition  to  this  work,  its  instruments,    and  its  Author. 

Ninety  years  ago,  or  about  A.  D.  1760,  there  appeared 
an  Armenian  priest  in  the  quarter  of  Constantinople 
called  Psamatia,  by  the  name  of  Debajy  Oghln,  to  whom 
the  honor  belongs  of  having  made  the  first  attempt  in 
modern  days,  for  the  reformation  of  the  Armenian  Church. 
He  wrote  a  book,  in  which,  in  a  very  forcible  and  fear- 
less manner,  he  exposed  some  of  the  most  glaring  errors 
of  his  Church.     With  the  history  of  Luther  and  the  Re- 


6  ENLIGHTENED    PRIEST    OF    THE    LAST    CENTURY. 

formation,  he  was  more  or  less  familiar ;  and  he  speaks 
in  decided  terms  of  approbation  of  the  Reformer  ;  which, 
considering  the  inveterate  ignorance  and  prejudice  every- 
where prevalent  in  the  East  on  this  subject,  shows  a 
remarkable  degree  of  enlightenment  and  independence  of 
mind  on  the  part  of  the  priest.  He  was  a  man  of  much 
native  playfulness  and  wit,  and  he  castigates  both  clergy 
and  people  with  an  unsparing  hand  ;  often  holding  them  up 
to  ridicule  for  their  gross  inconsistencies  both  in  faith  and 
practice.  His  constant  reference  to  the  Bible,  testing 
every  principle  and  ceremony  by  that  high  standard, 
shows  both  a  reverence  for  its  authority,  and  familiarity 
with  its  teachings.  His  mind  seemed  to  dwell,  chiefly,  on 
the  inconsistent  conduct  of  the  priests  and  bishops,  and 
the  superstition  of  the  people  ;  and  neither  the  doctrine  of 
justification  by  faith,  nor  the  necessity  of  a  Divine  influ- 
ence to  secure  a  real  reformation,  is  anywhere  alluded  to. 
Judging  from  his  book,  the  element  of  true  spiritual  reli- 
gion was  wanting  in  his  mind,  and  this  will  explain,  per- 
haps, why  so  little  fruit  resulted  at  the  time,  from  his 
labors.  He  was  convinced  of  the  errors  of  his  Church, 
but  seems  not  to  have  seen  the  truth  clearly  and  dis- 
tinctly, as  it  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  His  book  was  never 
printed,  and  for  a  long  course  of  years  it  was  buried  in 
apparent  oblivion.  Even  then,  however,  copies  of  it  were 
secretly  kept  by  individuals  ;  and  at  the  beginning  of  the 
present  reformation  in  the  Armenian  Church,  they  were 
providentially  brought  to  light,  and  used  to  much  advan- 
tage in  directing  the  attention  of  people  to  the  prevailing 
errors  of  the  Church.  It  is  possible  that  the  labors  of 
this  priest  had  more  to  do  with  preparing  the  way  for 


EARLY     EFFORTS    OF    BIBLE    SOCIETIES.  7 

this  reformation,  than  can  now  be  proved  by  any  well- 
authenticated  facts. 

As  early  as  the  year  1813,  both  the  British  and  Rus- 
sian Bible  Societies  became  so  much  interested  in  the 
spiritual  condition  of  the  Armenian  people,  as  to  make 
the  most  active  exertions  to  supply  them  with  the  Sacred 
Scriptures.  A  translation  of  the  whole  Bible,  in  the 
ancient  Armenian  language,  made  in  the  fourth  century, 
was  found  in  existence  among  them,  but  copies  of  it  were 
extremely  rare,  and,  of  course,  proportionably  dear.  An 
edition  of  this  version  was  commenced  in  St.  Petersburgh, 
by  the  Russian  Society,  during  the  year  above  mentioned, 
and  about  the  same  time,  another  edition  of  the  same 
was  put  to  press  in  Calcutta,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Calcutta  Auxilliary  to  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society.  In  1815,  the  former  was  completed  ;  consisting 
of  5000  copies,  while  the  latter,  of  2000  copies,  was  not 
finished  until  two  years  afterwards.  The  Russian  Soci- 
ety also  soon  published  an  edition  of  two  thousand  copies 
of  the  ancient  Armenian  New  Testament  by  itself.  The 
Committee  of  the  British  Society,  in  their  report  for  1814, 
say  that  "the  printing  of  the  Armenian  Testament  has 
awakened  great  attention  among  the  Armenians,  particu- 
larly in  Russia  ;  and  a  fervent  desire  has  been  manifested 
on  their  part,  to  possess  that  invaluable  treasure.  There 
is  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  distribution  of  the 
Sacred  Scriptures  among  that  widely-scattered  people, 
will,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  be  attended  with  the 
most  beneficial  results."  It  will  be  remembered  that  the 
Emperor  Alexander  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  objects 
of  the  Bible  Society,  and  was,  at  one  time,  a  most  effi- 
'>ient  promoter  of  it  throughout  his  dominions.     A  cause 


8  EARLY    nFFORTS    OF    BTBLE    SOCIETIES. 

which  the  Emperor  favored  must  of  course  be  popular  ; 
and  accordingly  we  find  archbishops  and  bishops,  govern- 
ors and  generals,  and  nearly  all  the  nobility  of  the  Em- 
pire, among  the  patrons  and  supporters  of  this  institution. 
Among  the  rest  was  Eprem  (Ephraim)  the  Katholicos,  or 
visible  spiritual  head  of  the  Armenian  Church,  resident 
at  Echmiadzin,  in  the  Russian  dominions,  who  was 
elected  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents  of  the  Society.  A  let- 
ter of  his  to  the  President  of  the  Russian  Bible  Society  is 
still  extant,  in  which  he  strongly  commends  the  cause  in 
general,  and  the  effort  to  supply  his  own  people  with  the 
Word  of  Grod  in  particular.  The  Armenian  Archbishop 
Nerses  of  Tiflis,  who  has  succeeded  to  the  office  of 
Katholicos,  contributed  600  rubles  towards  the  object, 
and  other  leading  ecclesiastics  followed  the  same  ex- 
ample. 

During  the  year  1818,  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society  purchased  1500  copies  of  the  ancient  Armenian 
New  Testament,  from  the  Armeno-Oatholic  College  on 
the  island  of  St.  Lazarus,  Venice,  for  distribution  at  a 
reduced  price,  or  gratuitously,  among  the  Armenian  peo- 
ple. Subsequently,  still  larger  numbers  were  procured, 
from  the  same  quarter,  and  put  in  circulation,  chiefly 
among  the  Armenians  of  Turkey.  And  so  much  encour- 
agement did  they  meet  with  in  these  labors,  that  we  find 
the  same  society,  during  the  year  1823,  publishing  at 
Constantinople  an  edition  of  5000  copies  of  the  Armenian 
New  Testament,  and  of  3000  copies  of  the  four  gospels 
alone  !  Nor  were  these  volumes  of  the  Word  of  Grod  long 
detained  to  load  the  shelves  of  a  depository.  They  were 
rapidly  and  widely  circulated,  first  through  the  agency  of 
Drs.   Patterson  and  Henderson,  among  the  Armenians  in 


TRANSLATIONS    INTO    THE    VERNACULAR    TONGUE.  9 

the  Trans-Caucasian  provinces  of  Russia  ;  and  afterwards 
in  Turkey,  by  the  zealous  efforts  of  the  Rev.  James  Con- 
nor, of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  and  the  Rev. 
Henry  Leeves,  and  Benjamin  Baker,  Esq.,  agents  of  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society.  From  the  year  1822, 
the  Reports  of  this  Society  also  make  frequent  mention  of 
the  services  of  the  Missionaries  of  the  American  Board,  in 
efficiently  distributing  the  Word  of  Grod  among  the  Ar- 
menians, as  well  as  the  other  nations  of  Western  Asia. 

An    important   discovery,   however,    had    already    put 
these  Societies  upon  a  new  course  of  labor.     The  ancient 
Armenian  language  was  not  understood  by  the  mass  of 
the  people.     True,  the  teachers  of  schools,  some  of  the 
priests  and  deacons,  and  all  of  the  higher  clergy,  having 
made  this  language  their  special  study,  were  prepared  to 
be   benefited ;    and   the    importance  of   supplying   these 
classes   only,  with  the  pure  Word  of  God,  could  hardly 
be  over  estimated.     As  we  advance  in  this  history,  it  will 
be  seen,  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  reformation  began 
amons:  the  teachers.     But  in  order  to  reach  the  common 
people,  the  Russian  Society  issued  an  edition  of  the  New 
Testament  translated  into  the  Armeno-Turkish  in  1822, 
and  in  the  following  year,  an  edition  was  published  by  the 
British  Society  in  the  vulgar  Armenian  tongue.    A  portion 
of  the  Armenians  in  Turkey  have  lost  entirely  the  use  of 
their  vernacular  language,  and  now  speak  only  the  Tur- 
kish ;  and  it  was  for  them  especially  that  the  first  named 
translation  was  intended,  being  in  the  Turkish  language, 
written  with  the  Armenian  character.      Although  there 
were  many  defects   in   both  these  translations,  yet  they 
were  widely  circulated,  and   there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  great  Head  of  the  Church  honored  them,  even  in  that 


I 


10  HOSTILITY    OF    THE    PATRIARCH. 

early  day,  as  instruments  in  preparing  the  minds  of  many 
for  the  reception  of  the  truths  even  as  it  is  in  Jesics.  The 
latter  has  been  highly  useful  during  the  whole  course, 
thus  far,  of  the  work  of  spiritual  regeneration  among  the 
Armenians  of  Turkey  ;  although  it  has  latterly  been  chief- 
ly displaced  by  a  revised  and  greatly  improved  edition, 
prepared  and  printed  under  the  auspices  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society,  by  the  missionaries  of  the  Ameri- 
can Board  in  Smyrna. 

Up  to  this  period,  the  Armenian  ecclesiastics  had  made 
no  opposition,  so  far  as  is  known,  to  the  circulation  of  the 
Bible  among  their  people,  and  some  of  the  very  highest  of 
them,  as  has  been  stated,  seemed  to  favor  the  project. 
But  when  Messrs.  Leeves  and  Barker,  agents  of  the  Brit- 
ish Society,  sought  the  approbation  of  the  Armenian  Pa- 
triarch at  Constantinople  in  1823,  to  the  printing  of  a 
version  of  the  New  Testament  in  the  modern  Armenian, 
which  nearly  all  the  people  could  understand,  that  dig- 
nitary refused  his  sanction  in  the  most  positive  terms  ; 
and  threatened,  that  if  such  a  work  were  attempted,  he 
would  prohibit  the  perusal  of  it,  and  even  punish  such  as 
should  be  found  with  it  in  their  possession  ;  and  the  Ar- 
menian clergy  generally,  at  that  time,  so  far  as  they  were 
consulted,  unanimously  reprobated  the  plan  of  having 
such  a  translation.  Here  we  see  the  true  spirit  and  poli- 
cy of  the  Armenian  ecclesiastical  authorities  ;  entirely  cor- 
roborating the  statement,  that  in  everything  essential 
they  bear  the  closest  affinity  with  Rome  ! 

The  first  mission  of  the  American  Board  to  "Western 
Asia,  was  to  Palestine,  in  the  year  1819.  The  Armenians 
had  then  attracted  no  particular  attention  from  any  Mis- 
sionary Society,  and  although  the  Prudential  Committee, 


ARMENIAN    PILGRIMS    IN    PALESTINE.  11 

at  this  very  time,  contemplated  the  ultimate  extension  of 
their  missionary  labors,  to  the  countries  bordering  on  the 
Black  Sea,  and  particularly  to  Armenia,  yet  no  reference 
whatever  was  had  to  the  Armenian  people,  in  this  first 
mission  to  the  Holy  Land.  The  very  existence  of  such  a 
race  was  then  known  to  but  few  in  our  country.  It  must 
also  be  mentioned,  that  in  the  whole  land  of  Palestine, 
there  were  to  be  found  only  a  mere  handful  of  this  class 
of  inhabitants,  and  yet  two  events  are  to  be  recorded  in 
connection  with  this  mission,  which  subsequently  had  a 
most  important  bearing  upon  the  work  among  the  Arme- 
nians of  Turkey.  Early  in  1821,  Mr.  Parsons,  on  his  first 
visit  to  Jerusalem,  found  there  some  Armenian  pil- 
grims, with  whom  he  had  an  interesting  conversation  on 
religious  subjects.  Deeply  interested  in  their  appearance, 
he  ventured  to  suggest  the  thought  of  having  a  mission 
sent  from  the  American  churches  to  Armenia  itself. 
"  We  shall  rejoice,"  they  replied,  "  we  shall  rejoice,  and 
all  will  rejoice  when  they  arrive."  Mr.  Fisk,  who  had 
accompanied  Mr.  Parsons  as  far  as  Smyrna,  soon  after 
wrote  from  that  city  to  Boston,  recommending  the  ap- 
pointment of  missionaries  to  Armenia.  It  is  a  singular 
coincidence,  that  before  anything  had  been  heard  on  the 
subject  from  either  of  these  missionaries,  some  intelligent 
friends  of  the  Board  in  Boston,  urged  the  same  measure 
upon  the  Prudential  Committee.  From  this  time  onward, 
neither  the  missionaries  in  the  Levant,  nor  the  Board  at 
home,  ever  lost  sight  of  the  plan  of  having  a  mission 
^.mong  the  Armenians. 

The  other  event  alluded  to  above,  was  the  conversion, 
At  Beirut,  of  three  Armenian  ecclesiastics,  as  the  first 
<cuits  of  the  labors  of  our  brethren  there.     Two  of  them 


12  CONVERSION    OF    THREE    ECCLESIASTICS, 

were  bishops,  and  the  other  a  distinguished  vartabed,  or 
preacher  ;  and  it  is  believed  that  all  of  them,  by  their 
letters  to  Constantinople,  and  other  parts  of  Turkey,  con- 
tributed much  towards  preparing  the  minds  of  their  fel- 
low countrymen  for  that  interesting  spiritual  work  which 
has  since  been  going  on  among  them.  Their  names 
were  Dionysius,  Hagop,  and  Krikor  ;  more  familiarly 
known  in  the  letters  and  journals  of  the  missionaries,  as 
Carabed,  Yacob  Agha,  and  Wortabet.  The  two  In.tter 
have  Ions:  since  been  called  to  their  rest.  The  former, 
who  was  almost  prophetically  named  by  the  missionaries, 
Carabet,  which  signifies  Forerunner,  still  survives  to 
witness  the  wonders  G-od  hath  wrought  among  his  coun- 
trymen since  his  own  conversion,  which  was  the  first 
among  the  Armenians,  in  connectfon  with  our  missions ; 
though  groaning  under  the  pressure  of  many  years,  and 
many  infirmities,  and  ready  to  exclaim,  "  Lord,  now  let- 
test  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace." 

And  now  we  come  to  a  point  in  the  chain  of  events, 
where  a  single  link  connects  these  distant  movements 
among  Armenians,  directly  with  the  true  and  proper  field 
of  the  Armenian  mission,  Mr.  King,  on  leaving  Syria,  in 
1825,  addressed  a  farewell  letter  to  the  Roman  Catholics, 
stating  the  reasons  why  he  could  not  be  a  Catholic.  This 
letter  was  translated  into  the  Armenian  language,  by 
bishop  Dionysius,  and  a  copy  in  manuscript  was  sent  to 
some  Armenians  of  distinction  in  Constantinople.  An 
extraordinary  eflfect  was  produced  on  the  minds  of  all 
who  read  it,  and  soon  a  meeting  was  called  in  the  Arme- 
nian Patriarchal  Church,  at  which,  it  is  said,  the  letter 
was  read,  and  the  references  to  Scripture  examined,  and, 
as  if  by  common  consent,  it  was  agreed  that  the  Church 


PESHTIMAI-JrAN    AND    IIIS    SCHOOL.  18 

needs  reform.  Ont  of  this  grew,  immediately,  the 
fam.ons  school  of  Peshtimajjian.  It  was  established 
within  the  precincts  of  the  Patriarchate  at  Constanti- 
nople, and  one  particular  object  was  the  education  of  the 
clergy;  the  rule  being  adopted,  that  no  individual  should 
thereafter  be  ordained  to  the  priest's  office  in  the  Capital, 
who  had  not  completed  a  regular  course  of  study  at  this 
school. 

Peshtimaljian  was,  in  many  respects,  an  extraordi- 
nary man.  Possessing,  naturally,  an  active  and  inquis- 
itive mind,  '  and  a  retentive  mem.ory,  he  always 
busied  himself  in  gathering  knowledge  from  all  sources 
within  his  reach,  and  what  he  gathered,  he  never  lost. 
He  was  a  most  critical  and  accurate  scholar  in  the  ancient 
Armenian  tongue,  and  deeply  versed  in  all  the  lore  of  his 
own  nation.  Though  a  layman,  he  made  himself  famil- 
iar with  the  theology  of  the  Eastern  and  Roman  churches, 
with  the  doings  of  their  Councils,  and  with  the  general 
history  of  the  Church  from  the  earliest  ages.  'He  was 
also  a  student  of  the  Bible,  andcoull  quot^  passages  from 
every  part  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  with  wonder- 
ful fa  oil  it  v  and  accuracy.  Disgusted  with  the  superstitions 
of  his  Church,  and  especially  with  the  low  character  of 
many  of  its  clergy,  and  having  had  access  to  the  writings 
of  certain  French  infidels,  he  seems  to  have  lived  for  a 
while  under  the  delusion  that  all  religion  is  a  lie.  He 
was  soon,  however,  brought  back  to  the  ground,  that  the 
Bible  is  the  true  word  of  God  and  the  only  standard  of  faith. 
It  is  believed,  that  for  many  years,  religion,  with  him,  was 
more  a  matter  of  intellectual  inquiry  and  speculation, 
than- of  divine  power  ;  more  a  correct  system  of  opinions, 
Ihan  a  heart  right  with  G-od.  He  was  cautious  in  speak- 
2 


f 


14  CilARACTEn    or     PE3HTIMALJIAN'. 

ing  of  the  errors  of  the  Church,  and  even  timid,  and  some- 
tinnes  time-gerving  in  the  pi;esence  of  the  bigoted  ;  but  in 
a  silent  and  unostentatious  manner,  he  gradually  led  his 
pupils  into  new  paths  of  inquiry  and  investigation ;  and 
almost  before  they  were  aware  of  it  themselves,  they 
came  to  believe  that  the  Church  not  only  may  err,  but 
actually  does  err  in  many  of  her  teachings.  This  was  the 
position  of  things  when  the  mission  to  the  Armenians  at 
Constantinople,  was  commenced.  Afterwards,  when  the 
G-ospel  began  to  take  effect  on  the  minds  of  men, 
and  he  saw  some  of  his  own  former  pupils,  for  whom  he 
entertained  a  high  regard,  boldly  advocating  the  doctrines 
of  evangelical  religion,  he  became  alarmed,  and  warned 
them  against  going  too  fast  and  too  far.  At  first,  he  even 
ridiculed  the  idea  that  an  important  reformation  was 
practicable  in  the  Armenian  community,  through  the 
simple  preaching  of  the  G-ospel,  Indeed,  it  might  be 
said  of  him,  at  this  time,  as  Luther  said  of  Erasmus  ; 
*' What  is  of  man  was  nearer  to  his  heart  than  what  is  of 
G-od."  If  his  beginning  was  like  Erasmus,  however,  he 
was  not  the  same  in  his  end.  He  subsequently  became 
convinced  that  his  pupils  were  only  carrying  out  consis- 
tently, the  very  principle  they  had  learned  of  him,  and 
ever  after,  he  strongly,  though  still  privately,  encouraged 
them  in  their  labors  for  the  spiritual  regeneration  of  their 
countrymen.  He  Vv^as  always  a  friend  of  the  missiona- 
ries, and  had  much  intercourse  with  them,  although  with 
some  caution,  for  fear  of  exciting  suspicion.  Never,  till 
the  day  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  the  year  1838, 
did  he  so  far  overcome  his  native  timidity,  as  openly  to 
avow  himself  an  evangelical  man.  It  is  probable  the 
ordeal  of  persecution  would  have  brought  him,  as  it  did 


PREPARATION    OF    MIND.  15 

others  like  him,  to  take  decided  ground  in  favor  of  the 
truth.  Up  to  the  tinie  of  his  death,  however,  there  had 
been  no  formal  separation  of  the  evangelical  brethren 
from  the  Armenian  community,  and  no  open  persecution 
of  the  followers  of  Christ.  It  is  impossible  to  calculate 
the  amount  of  influence  exerted  by  Peshtimaljian,  in 
preparing  the  minds  of  men  to  receive  the  true  knowledge 
of  the  gospel.  All  the  first  converts,  under  the  labors  of 
the  missionaries  of  the  Board  in  Constantinople,  and 
many  of  the  later  ones,  were  from  among  the  alumni  of 
his  school. 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  that,  owing  to  the  causes  that 
have  now  been  specified,  in  connection  with  others  more 
recondite,  there  did  exist  in  the  Armenian  mind,  in  Tur- 
key, a  preparedness  for  the  reception  of  divine  truth, 
previous  to  its  actual  proclamation  among  them  by  the 
American  missionaries.  This  was  more  evident  at  the 
capital  than  in  the  provinces,  and  yet  it  was  more  or  less 
true,  wherever  Armenians  were  found.  More  than 
twenty-five  years  ago,  bishop  Dionysius  and  Krikor  Yar- 
tabed,  both  of  whom  had  traveled  extensively  in  Asia 
Minor  and  Armenia,  as  well  as  resided  at  Constantinople, 
testified  to  the  missionaries  in  Beirut,  that  the  minds  of 
the  Armenian  people  were  wonderfully  inclined  towards 
the  pure  gospel,  and  that,  should  preachers  go  among 
them,  no  doubt  thousands  would  be  ready  to  receive  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  Christ.  And  the  correctness  of  this 
opinion  has  been  fully  attested  by  all  our  experience 
hitherto.  The  gospel  has  been  preached  to  Grreeks  and 
Jews  in  Turkey,  as  well  as  to  Armenians,  but  among 
these  classes  no  such  preparation  of  mind  has  ever  been 
exhibited.     To  the  Jews,  for  the  most  part,  it  has  proved 


Ifi      PROBAP.H.fTV    OF    PITTY    IN    THE    ARMENIAN    CHURCH. 

"a  stiimblinc:-l)]nck,"  and  to  the  Greeks,  ''foolishness;" 
while  to  the  Armenians  it  has  been  "  the  power  of  God 
and  the  wisdom  of  God." 

If  it  be  asked,  whether,  this  being  the  state  of  things, 
there  is  not  good  ground  to  suppose  that  many  pious 
characters  were  to  be  found  among  the  Armenians,  before 
the  missionaries  began  their  labors,  the  answer  is  at  hand. 
The  Armenians  hafl  in  their  possession  the  Bible,  as  we 
have  seen.  They  had  the  pure  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 
And  although  comparatively  few  ever  read  that  Bible  for 
themselves,  and  all  were  educated  to  receive  as  true  many 
extraneous  things — the  mere  inventions  of  man — contra- 
dictory of  the  word  of  God  ;  yet,  who  shall  dare  to  limit  the 
Holy  One,  and  say  that  his  Spirit  might  not  make  a  sav- 
ing application  of  the  truth  that  is  known — though  very 
imperfectly,  and  connected  with  many  errors — and  train 
up,  here  and  there,  a  soul  for  his  kingdom  I  At  least  one 
individual,  apparently  of  this  class,  was  known  to  us.  He 
was  an  old  man  trembling  under  the  burden  of.more  than 
fourscore  years,  and,  from  education,  still  clinching  to 
many  of  the  superstitions  of  his  Church  ;  and  yet  his  mind 
was  fixed  on  heaven.  He  appeared  very  conscientious, 
and  his  affections  seemed  to  be  "on  things  above,  and  not 
on  things  on  the  earth."  He  conversed  about  heavenly 
things  with  the  ease  and  familiarity  of  one  who  had  long 
been  habituated  to  contemplation  on  such  subjects  ;  and 
the  earth  seemed  to  be  kept  beneath  his  feet.  He  died 
at  the  age  of  eighty-five,  and  we  felt  that  there  was  satis- 
factory ground  to  hope  that  death  to  him  was  eternal  gain. 
Others  there  may  have  been,  whom  the  Lord  has  known 
to  be  his  dear  children,  though  v/e  have  been  ignorant  of 
them.     We  regard  these,  however,  as  extremely  rare  ex- 


god's  providence  and  spirit.  17 

ceptions  to  a  general  rule.  And  even  in  these  isolated 
cases,  there  was  so  much  "  wood,  hay,  and  stubble,"  mixed 
up  with  the  silver  and  gold  of  their  foundation,  that  the 
individuals  could  emphatically  be  said  to  be  saved  "  so  as 
by  fire."  Not  a  solitary  case  of  fully  enlightened  Chris- 
tian piety  have  we  known,  in  the  whole  Armenian  Church, 
where  the  subject  of  it  received  his  teaching  in  connection 
with  that  Church  alone.  And,  in  general,  the  highest 
degree  of  preparation  of  mind  with  which  we  have  been 
conversant,  has  been  a  conviction  that  some  of  the  doc- 
trines and  observances  of  the  Church  are  erroneous  or  su- 
perfluous, and  a  remarkable  candor  in  listening  to  state- 
ments contradictory  of  their  previous  notions,  and  as 
wonderful  a  readiness  to  receive  and  act  upon  the  plain 
teaching  of  the  Word  of  G-od,  as  soon  as  known,  though 
with  one  blow  it  swept  away  the  whole  of  that  splendid 
and  imposing  fabric  of  superstition  which  had  required 
the  ingenuity  and  toil  of  many  ages  to  erect. 

The  common  people,  when  left  to  themselves,  and  un- 
intimidated  by  the  clergy,  have  almost  everywhere  heard 
the  word  with  gladness  :  and  this  has  been  the  case  with 
many  of  the  parochial  priests,  except  where  they  have 
been  made  to  dread  the  wrath  of  their  superiors.  And  in 
stating  the  causes  that- have  combined  to  produce  this 
remarkable  preparation  of  mind,  we  desire  most  distinctly 
to  recognize  an  overruling  and  ever  active  Providence,  in 
so  ordering  events  as  to  bring  these  causes  into  being,  and 
make  them  bear  with  concentrated  force  upon  the  Arme- 
nian race  at  this  particular  time  ;  and  also  an  omnipresent 
and  almighty  Spirit,  combining  and  cooperating  with  Pro- 
vidence, so  as  to  produce  the  desired  effect  upon  the  minds 
and  hearts  of  this  people.     It  may  truly  be  said  in  regard 


18  god's  providence  and  spirit. 

to  the  Armenians,  that  the  "  fulness  of  time"  had  come, 
when  preachers  of  the  gospel  from  the  western  world  were 
sent  among  them  to  call  them  to  the  word,  the  service, 
and  the  glory  of  Christ.  And  as  we  proceed  in  this  his- 
tory, it  will  become  more  and  more  evident,  that  Grod  has 
been  among  them  in  very  deed,  working  outwardly  by  his 
Providence,  and  inwardly  by  his  Spirit ;  thus  encouraging 
the  brightest  hopes  of  what  they  are  one  day  to  become  as 
a  people,  and  of  what  they  are  to  do,  instrumentally,  in 
conferring  the  temporal  and  spiritual  blessings  of  Chris- 
tianity on  all  the  nations  and  races  around. 


CHAPTER    II. 

Exploring  Tour — Mr.  Goodell's  Removal  to  Constantinople — Interview 
with  the  Patriarch — Arrival  of  Messrs.  D wight  and  Schauffler — Obstacles 
— Schools  and  Preaching — Intercourse  with  the  Clergy — Pestilence  and 
War — First  Inquirer  and  Convert — Opposition — Good  from  Evil — Or- 
dination of  Priests — Der  Kevork — Removal  of  the  Press  to  Smyrna — 
Spirit's  Presence — High  School — Arrival  of  Messrs.  Schneider  and 
Johnston — Station  at  BrQsa — Do.  at  Trebizond — Prosperity  at  Constan- 
tinople— Friendly  Intercourse  with  Clergy — Character  of  Patriarch  and 
his  Vicar — Opposition  to  High  School — Bishop  Matteos — Arrival  of  Mr. 
Powers — Book  Distribution — Ecclesiastical  Inquirers — Evangelical  Ser- 
mons— Hostile  Manifestation — Romish  Influence — Character  of  the  Work 
— Female  Education — Missionary  Tours — Arrival  of  Mr.  Jackson. 

In  the  year  1829,  it  was  resolved  by  the  Prudential 
Committee  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions,  to  establish  a  mission  among  the  Ar- 
menians of  Turkey.  But  first,  it  was  desirable  to  have  a 
correct  view  of  the  whole  ground,  and  especially  of  Ar- 
menia itself,  the  proper  country  of  the  Armenian  people. 
Accordingly,  the  Rev.  Eli  Smith,  of  the  Syrian  mission, 
and  the  writer,  were  deputed  to  explore  this  field.  The 
tour  was  commenced  in  the  spring  of  1830,  and  occupied 
somewhat  more  than  a  year  ;  and  a  mass  of  new  infor- 
mation was  obtained,  both  in  regard  to  the  Armenians  and 
the  Nestorians.  vrhieh  has  since  been  of  essential  service 


20  1NTERV[E\V    AVITII    THE    PATRIAKCJf. 

ill  prosecuting  iiiissionury  operations  in  that  part  of  the 
world.*' 

Early  in  the  year  1831,  the  Rev.  W.  Gfoodell,  formerly 
at  Beirut,  but  then  at  Malta,  was  instructed  to  proceed  to 
Constantinople  with  his  family,  in  order  to  commence  a 
new  station  there,  with  special  reference  to  the  Armenians. 
They  arrived  on  the  9th  of  June  of  the  same  year.  Mr. 
Goodell  had  already,  while  in  Syria,  devoted  himself  to 
the  study  of  the  Turkish  language,  with  a  view  to  labor- 
ing for  the  spiritual  good  of  ilrmeaian  pilgrims  to  Jerus  i- 
lem.  Tie  had  superintended  the  translation  of  the  Ne^v 
Testament  into  Armeno^Turkish,  and  carried  the  first  edi- 
tion through  the  press  at  Malta  ;  and  had  commenced  the 
translation  of  the  Old  Testament  into  the  same  language. 
He  had  also,  while  temporarily  in  Malta,  translated  and 
printed  several  religious  tracts  in  the  same.  Very  shortly 
after  his  arrival  at  the  Turkish  capital,  he  called  upon  tho 
Armenian  Patriarch,  and  sought  his  cooperation  in  estab- 
lishing schools  on  an  improved  plan  among  the  people. 
The  Patriarch  received  him.  with  true  oriental  politeness, 
as  he  had  done  Mr.  Smith  an;l  myself  the  year  previous, 
and  promised  to  furnish  some  schoolmasters,  or  priests,  to 
learn  the  new  system  of  instruction,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
open  schools.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  this  promise,  which 
was  never  kept,  had  as  little  meaning  as  the  declaration 
that  he  loved  Mr.  Goodell  and  his  country  so  much,  that 
if  Mr.  Gr.  had  not  come  to  visit  him,  he  must  needs  have 
gone  to  America  ! 

Providential   circumstances    interrupted   Mr.   (xoodell's 

*  The  results  orUiis  tour,  are  embodied  in  a  work  nntitlel,  R  \s  >ar-hes  of 
the  Rev.  E.  Smith  and  R^v.  H  G.  O  Dvvight  in  Armenia,  Sco.  i'ubiisned 
by  Ci-ockcr  &  Ei-ev.'btcr,  Boston,  1S33, 


OBSTACLES.  21 

first  plans  for  the  good  of  the  Armenians,  and  for  a  season 
cut  off  ahnost  all  intercourse  with  this  people.  In  the 
meantime,  the  (irreeks  were  thrown  in  his  way,  and  for  a 
year  or  more,  nearly  his  whole  time  was  devoted  to  them. 
Two  individuals,  however,  belonging  to  that  portion  of  the 
Armenians  who  had  gone  over  to  Rome,  sought  frequent 
intercourse  with  him,  and  seemed  deeply  interested  in  the 
study  of  the  Scriptures. 

On  the  0th  of  June,  1832,  the  writer  took  up  his  per- 
manent residence  at  Constantinople,  with  his  family,  being 
appointed  to  labor  among  the  Armenians.'^  The  mission- 
aries encountered  all  the  usual  disadvantages  and  obstacles 
of  a  new  field.  Difficult  languages  were  to  be  mastered  ; 
the  habitual  modes  of  thinking  and  feeling,  prevailing 
among  the  people,  were  to  be  learned  ;  and  the  best. 
methods  of  gaining  access  to  them,  and  securing  their 
confidence.  It  was  plain  that  an  immense  fabric  of  su- 
perstition had  been  erected  in  the  place  of  simple  gospel 
truth,  and  it  seemed  to  excite  the  reverence  and  awe  of 
the  people,  in  proportion  as  it  had  grown  hoary  with  age. 
But  it  was  not  so  easy  to  see  how  two  foreigners,  from  a  far 
off  and  almost  unknown  country,  with  no  established 
character  in  the  place,  and,  indeed,  coming  in  such  a  way 
as  very  naturally  to  excite  suspicion,  should  make  their 
first  attempts  to  persuade  the  people  that  all  their  present 
grounds  of  religious  confidence  were  delusive,  and  that 
they  (the  missionaries)  had  come  to  teach  them  a  better 
way — the  true  and  only  way  of  salvation. 

*  The  Rev.  W.  G.  Schaiiffler  joined  the  Constantinople  Station  the  last  of 
July  of  the  same  year.     Although  his  labors  have  been  conhned  cliiefly  to 
the  Jews,  yet  his  influence  in  promoting  the  work  of  reform  among  the  Ar- 
menians has  been  of  the  greatest  importance,  in  various  ways. 
9* 


22  SCHOOLS    AND    PREACHING. 

The  circumstances  ot  tne  case  seemed  to  compel  us  to 
make  our  first  regular  effort  in  the  educational  depart- 
ment. We  had  a  press  in  Malta,  and  the  New  Testament 
and  several  tracts  had  already  been  printed  in  a  language 
spoken  by  the  Armenians.  But  of  what  use  were  books, 
when  people  could  not  read  ?  And  besides,  it  seemed  to 
us  plain,  that,  under  existing  circumstances,  a  very  im- 
portant means  of  procuring  access  to  the  people,  in  the 
outset  of  our  labors,  was  through  educational  institutions. 
At  the  same  time,  we  felt  called  upon  to  make  known  the 
way  of  salvation  to  all  men,  as  the  Lord  gave  us  opportu- 
nity, and  as  we  had  ability  to  use  their  language.  And  in 
this  department  we  were  fully  satisfied  that  the  great 
burden  of  our  preaching  should  be,  not  the  superstitions 
of  the  Church,  but  "  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified." 
From  the  beginning  onward,  we  have  acted  on  the  prin- 
ciple, that  the  easiest,  safest,  and  best  way  to  break  dov,"n 
error,  is  to  build  up  the  truth.  With  the  ecclesiastics  of 
the  Armenian  Church,  we  endeavored  to  maintain  friendly 
intercourse,  and  to  secure  their  cooperation  in  our  educa- 
tional efforts.  With  this  view,  we  made  repeated  attempts 
to  interest  the  Patriarch  in  the  object,  as  well  as  other 
high  dignitaries  of  the  Church.  The  Patriarch  always 
professed  great  readiness  to  act  in  the  matter,  but  in 
reality  never  moved  a  finger,  and  the  others  were  always 
waiting  to  see  what  he  would  do  ;  and  of  course  nothing 
was  done  by  any  of  them. 

But  here  other  obstacles  arose  which  had  not  been  an 
ticipated.  First  came  the  plague,  with  terrific  violence 
scattering  dismay  and  death  around.  This  was  succeeded 
by  the  cholera  ;  and  this  again  by  civil  war,  which  shook 
the  capital  and  endangered  the  throne.     Of  course,  but 


FIRST    INaUIRER    AND    CONVERT.  23 

Utile  intercourse  could  be  had  with  the  people  at  such  a 
time.  We  were  employed  chiefly  in  our  own  house  during 
the  remainder  of  the  year,  pursuing  the  study  of  languages, 
and  preparing  elementary  cards  and  books  for  schools. 
The  year  18o3  opened  with  brighter  prospects  for  the 
mission.  The  number  of  Armenian  visitors  had  been 
gradually  increasing,  though  the  greater  part  seemed  to 
come  from  motives  of  curiosity.  In  January,  a  young 
teacher,  of  modest  and  intelligent  appearance,  presented 
himself.  He  inquired  very  particularly  about  our  views 
of  religion  ;  and  there  was  an  air  of  sincerity  and  serious- 
ness in  his  deportment,  altogether  peculiar,  and  w^hich  pre- 
possessed us  very  strongly  in  his  favor.  Within  a  w^eek  he 
repeated  his  call,  and  then  for  the  first  time  unburdened 
his  mind.  He  was  seeking  the  salvation  of  his  soul :  he 
was  also  strongly  desirous  of  doing  something  effectual  for 
the  regeneration  of  the  whole  Armenian  community. 
From  his  youth  up,  he  had  ardently  thirsted  for  knowledge. 
In  the  year  1829,  he  became  a  pupil  of  the  famous  school 
of  Peshtimaljian.  He  had  previously  commenced  the 
reading  of  the  New  Testament,  a  cheap  copy  of  which  his 
father  had  purchased,  and,  to  some  extent,  he  had  com- 
pared its  teachings  with  the  principles  and  practices  of 
those  called  Christians  around  him.  He  now  consulted 
his  beloved  preceptor  in  regard  to  every  passage  that 
seemed  to  him  dark  and  unintelligible,  and  was  delighted 
to  find  Peshtimaljian  so  ready  to  sympathise  in  his  views, 
and  aid  him  in  his  investigations.  The  following  year  he 
found  a  friend,  who  was  also  a  teacher,  to  whom  he  ventured 
"Gradually  to  open  his  mind,  and  who,  after  some  opposition, 
was  brought  to  embrace  like  views  of  religion  with  him- 
self.    Often  did  they  commune  together  on  this  subject, 


24  FiltsT    lAUUJREK    AM)    COiWERT. 

and  jjray  together  lur  their  own  saivation  and  that  of  their 
fellow-countrymen.  At  .that  tune,  they  were  not  aware  of 
the  existence  of  a  single  nation  in  the  world,  having  a 
knowledge  of  the  pure  Gospel.  They  were  in  a  w^aiting 
posture,  earnestly  hoping  and  praying  that  the  Lord  would 
by  some  means  solve  their  doubts,  and  enable  them  to 
accomplish  their  designs  and  purposes.  For  two  years 
and  a  half,  they  remained  in  suspense,  still  ignorant  of 
many  things  pertaining  to  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  not 
even  discerning  clearly  their  own  lost  and  ruined  condition, 
and  the  great  doctrine  of  salvation  by  grace  alone  ;  and 
yet  wholly  dissatisfied  with  the  teachings  and  practices 
of  their  Church,  and  longing  for  some  solid  ground  of  hope 
and  peace  ;  and,  by  their  constant  study  of  the  Word  of 
Grod,  and  by  prayer,  gradually  making  progress  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  The  restless  activity 
of  the  enemy  hastened  the  solution  of  their  difficulties. 
It  was  noised  abroad  in  the  city,  that  two  missionaries 
from  America  were  residing  in  a  village  on  the  Bosphorus, 
who  W'cre  preparing  to  open  schools  among  the  Armenians, 
ostensibly  for  a  good  purpose,  but  really  to  spread  infi- 
delity. The  report,  though  designed  to  prevent  inter- 
course with  the  missionaries,  was  the  means  of  sending 
the  first  of  these  two  inquirers  to  our  house.  His  name  is 
Hohannes  Sahakian,  and  the  manner  of  his  first  visit  and 
his  personal  appearance,  has  already  been  partially  de- 
scribed. Our  first  interview  with  this  individual  may  be 
considered  as  an  era  in  the  history  of  the  mission.  He 
soon  became  a  most  efficient  instrument  in  promoting  the 
truth,  as  he  has  continued  to  ba  up  to  the  present  time  ; 
and  never,  from  that  moment,  have  we  been  without  the 
most  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  special  presence  of  the 


OPPOSETION.  25 

Holy  Spirit  among  the  Armenian  people.  On  the  18th  of 
July,  1833,  Mr.  Sahakian  and  his  companion,  in  a  very 
solemn  manner,  committed  themselves  to  our  instruction 
and  guidance.  "  We,"  said  they,  "  are  in  a  miserable 
condition,  and  we  need  your  help.  We  need  your  counsel 
and  advice.  We  are  in  the  fire,  and  we  want  you  to  put 
forth  your  hands  and  pull  us  out.  Here  are  two  roads ; 
one,  the  road  of  light  and  peace,  that  leads  to  heaven  ;  the 
other,  the  broad  way  of  darkness,  sin,  and  death,  in  which 
we  have  always  been  walking.  We  want  you  to  direct 
us  so  that  we  may  know  how  to  choose  the  narrow  way 
that  leads  to  life."  We  blessed  God  who  had  put  such 
longing  desires  into  their  hearts,  and  was  thus  giving  us 
an  opportunity  of  directing  sinners  to  him.  Nor  could  we 
doubt,  that  Providence  called  us  to  take  these  two  indi- 
viduals under  our  care  and  instruction,  with  special  refer- 
ence to  the  revival  of  pure  religion  among  their  country- 
men. One  of  them  was  employed  as  a  translator  of  the 
mission,  and  the  other  as  teacher  of  a  school  for  Armenian 
youth.  These  labors  occupied  only  a  part  of  each  day, 
and  the  remainder  was  devoted  to  the  study  of  the  Eng- 
lish language  and  the  Bible.  They  soon  found,  that  to  be 
true  Christians  was  something  more  than  they  had  yet 
imagined.  They  began  to  fear  and  tremble,  lest  they 
should  build  their  hopes  upon  a  wrong  foundation.  These 
were  to  them  days  of  heart-searching  and  sorrow  ;  but, 
by  the  mercy  of  Grod,  they  were  soon  brought  into  the 
clear  light  of  the  G-ospel,  and  led  to  trust,  with  a  calm  and 
joyful  confidence,  in  Jesus  Christ  as  the  only  and  all-suf- 
ficient Saviour. 

The  next  entry  to  be  made  upon  this  historic  page,  is 
the  record  of  opposition.     The  love  of  Christ  in  the  heart 
2 


26  GOOD    FROM    EVIL. 

will  show  itself  in  the  life.  The  soul  that  hopes  joyfully 
that  sin  is  pardoned  and  heaven  sure,  will  labor  to  put 
others  in  possession  of  the  same  precious  blessing.  And 
where,  in  this  world,  was  such  an  effort  faithfully  made 
and  true  religion  revived,  without  stirring  up  the  powers 
of  darkness  in  one  way  or  another,  to  oppose  ?  By  secret 
clerical  interference,  both  Armenian  and  Roman,  the 
school  was  broken  up.  Immediately  after,  an  Armenian 
jeweller  of  great  respectability  and  influence,  and  withal, 
strongly  attached  to  the  doctrines  and  rites  of  his  Church, 
had  his  mind  wrought  up  into  a  state  of  great  alarm,  in 
reference  to  the  course  of  these  two  young  men,  by  the 
secret  insinuations  of  a  Roman  priest.  They  were  repre- 
sented as  being  the  hired  tools  of  certain  foreigners,  em- 
ployed to  seduce  the  people,  and  lead  them  into  dangerous 
heresy.  The  jeweller  prevailed  upon  Peshtimaljian  to 
summon  the  delinquents  before  him,  in  order  to  examine 
them  as  to  the  alleged  heresy.  He  himself  was  present, 
and  began  the  examination  with  great  sternness  and  se- 
verity ;  charging  them  with  violating  their  obligations  to 
the  Church,  and  dishonoring  G-od.  They  were  proceeding 
to  vindicate  themselves,  when  Peshtimaljian  took  the 
business  wholly  out  of  their  hands,  and  poured  upon  the 
astonished  jeweller  such  a  flood  of  light,  from  history  as 
well  as  Scripture,  to  show  that  their  Church  is  wrong,  and 
in  many  things  idolatrous,  that  even  the  young  men 
themselves  were  amazed.  They  afterwards  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  speaking  for  themselves,  Peshtimaljian  aiding 
them  in  their  references  to  the  Scriptures  whenever  their 
own  memories  failed  ;  and  the  result  was,  that  the  jew- 
eller was  not  only  entirely  satisfied  that  they  were  in  the 
right,  but  immediately  became  himself  an  open  and  pow- 


ORDINATION    OF    PRIESTS.  21 

erful  advocate  of  the  Evangelical  doctrines.  Nor  was 
this  the  only  good  that  resulted  from  the  hostile  efforts  of 
the  officious  Roman  priest.  The  circumstance  of  the 
closing  of  the  school,  became  a  subject  of  some  notoriety, 
and  inquiry  was  elicited  as  to  the  cause,  and  some  minds 
were  put  upon  a  new  train  of  thought  in  regard  to  the 
differences  existing,  or  alleged  to  exist,  between  the 
Scriptures  and  the  Church.  The  conversion  of  a  least  one 
prominent  individual,  besides  the  jeweller,  may  be  dated 
from  this  period.  This  was  Mr.  Sarkis  Yarjabed,  teacher 
of  grammar  in  the  school  of  Peshtimaljian ;  a  man  held 
in  high  repute  as  a  scholar  in  the  ancient  language  of  the 
Armenians,  and  possessed  of  many  amiable  and  valuable 
qualities,  and  who  afterwards  became  highly  useful  as  a 
translator  in  connection  with  the  mission. 

Early  in  the  autumn  of  1833,  the  missionaries  were 
invited  to  witness  the  ordination  of  fifteen  Armenian 
priests  at  the  Patriarchal  church  in  Constantinople.  None 
had  been  ordained  for  many  years,  in  consequence  of  tho 
new  rule  already  alluded  to,  that  only  such  as  had  re- 
ceived a  regular  education  at  the  school  of  Peshtimaljian 
should  be  eligible  for  ordination.  Accordingly,  nearly  all  ;* 
the  candidates  on  the  present  occasion  were  comparatively 
well  educated  men ;  and  one  of  them  had  a  high  reputation 
for  learning.  He  had  a  peculiarly  serious  and  devout  ap- 
pearance, and  when,  some  days  afterwards,  we  called  upon 
him  in  his  seclusion,  in  one  of  the  cloisters  of  the  Patri- 
archate, he  seemed  deeply  impressed  by  the  remarks  made 
to  him  on  the  solemn  responsibilities  resting  upon  the 
office-bearers  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  On  taking  our 
leave,  he  feelingly  begged  an  interest  in  our  prayers,  and 
when  Mr.  G-oodell  immediately  uttered  an  audible  sup- 


28  REMOVAL  OF  THE  PRESS  TO  SMYRNA. 

plication  for  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  him,  his 
whole  appearance  indicated  that  his  soul  gave  a  deep  re- 
sponse to  the  petition.  This  was  Der  Kevork,  a  man 
whose  subsequent  influence  in  promoting  the  reformation 
was  highly  important,  as  will  appear  in  the  course  of  this 
history. 

Up  to  this  period,  the  missionary  press  had  remained 
in  Malta,  and  had  been  chiefly  employed  in  printing  in 
Grreek  and  Italian  ;  and  the  few  books  that  had  been  pre- 
pared for  the  Armenians,  were  all,  with  one  exception,  in 
the  Armeno-Turkish  language.  It  now  became  obvious, 
that  for  the  full  prosecution  of  the  work  among  the  Ar- 
menians, the  press  must  be  employed  much  more  vigor- 
ously than  heretofore,  and  it  was  equally  plain,  that  for 
this,  its  removal  to  Turkey  was  indispensably  requisite. 
Arrangements  were  made  accordingly,  and  on  the  23d  of 
December,  1833,  the  Rev.  D.  Temple,  and  Mr.  Homan 
Hallock,  missionary  printer,  arrived  in  Smyrna  with  the 
press,  accompanied  by  bishop  Dionysius,  as  Armenian 
translator.  Every  inch  of  ground,  however,  gained  by 
Protestantism  in  the  country,  must  be  stoutly  contested, 
and  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  so  important  an  ad- 
vantage as  the  establishment  of  a  Protestant  press,  would 
be  quietly  yielded  without  a  struggle.  A  combination  of 
Armenian  and  Roman  influences,  induced  the  Pasha  per- 
emptorily to  order  Mr.  Temple's  departure  from  Smyrna 
with  only  ten  days'  notice.  Different  motives  actuated 
the  different  parties  united  in  this  hostile  movement. 
The  Romanists  opposed,  because  of  their  settled  hostility 
to  Protestantism,  and  especially  to  a  free  Protestant  press. 
The  Armenians,  on  the  other  hand,  were  greatly  excited 
and  scandalized,  by  the  appearance  among  them  of  one  of 


29 

their  own  bishops,  who  had  taken  a  wife,  against  the  rules 
of  the  Church,  and  had  entirely  gone  over  to  the  Protest- 
ant religion.  An  ex-patriarch  of  the  Armenians  then  re- 
siding at  Smyrna,  and  who  had  long  been  a  personal 
enemy  of  bishop  Dionysius,  made  himself  very  active  in 
these  violent  proceedings.  The  Pasha,  who  had  acted 
hastily  and  under  a  misapprehension  of  the  facts  in  the 
ca&3,  revoked  his  order,  on  hearing  the  explanations  of 
the  American  Consul ;  but  it  was  thought  best  that  the 
bishop  should  return  to  Beirut,  where  he  had  formerly 
resided. 

The  indications  of  the  special  presence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  became  more  numerous  and  decisive,  and  from 
many  indubitable  signs,  it  became  more  and  more  evident 
that  God  was  about  to  do  a  great  work  among  the  Ar- 
menian people.  A  half  a  dozen  Armenians  and  a  few 
Greeks,  had  been  in  the  habit  of  meeting  weekly  at  Mr. 
Goodell's  for  religious  instruction.  These  meetings  had 
been  gradually  increasing  in  solemnity  and  interest.  On 
the  first  Monday  of  January,  1834,  the  monthly  concert 
was  observed,  for  the  first  time,  in  the  Turkish  language. 
Intelligence  was  communicated  from  the  missions,  and 
every  heart  seemed  deeply  interested,  and  many  eyes  were 
suffused  with  tears.  Our  native  brethren  there  received 
ji  new  impulse  to  go  on  with  their  labors  for  the  salvation 
of  their  own  countrymen.  The  number  steadily  increased 
of  those  who  frequented  the  houses  of  the  missionaries, 
and  the  main  topics  of  inquiry,  instead  of  being  about 
the  manners  and  customs  of  people  in  America ;  about 
the  arts  and  sciences ;  or  about  the  external  forms  and 
ceremonies  of  religion,  as  had  been  too  much  the  case, 
became  deeply  practical  and  spiritual,  relating  directly 


30  HIGH    SCHOOL    AT    PERA. 

to  the  salvation  of  the  soul.  In  the  course  of  the  year, 
two  or  three  priests  in  Constantinople  were  awakened, 
and.  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  Evangelical 
system.  The  Bible  was  much  sought  for  and  read  ;  many 
eyes  were  opened  to  see  the  folly  of  their  own  supersti- 
tions ;  and  a  few,  it  is  believed,  were  added  to  the  num- 
ber of  sincere  believers  in  Jesus  Christ.  The  two  young 
men  whose  interesting  history  has  been  briefly  given,  and 
who  became  our  native  assistants,  were  active  in  spread- 
ing the  truth,  and  exerted  no  small  amount  of  instru- 
mentality in  bringing  about  the  results  that  followed. 

Every  effort  made  to  induce  the  Armenian  Ecclesias- 
tical authorities  to  take  the  lead  in  enlarging  and  im- 
proving their  schools  having  proved  a  failure,  the  mission 
at  length  determined  to  establish,  independently,  a  High 
School  in  Pera,  a  suburb  of  Constantinople,  having  three 
principal  objects  in  view.  The  first  was,  to  educate  pro- 
mising boys  and  young  men  in  useful  branches,  with  the 
hope  that  in  this  way  some  at  least  would  be  prepared  to 
take  a  leading  part  in  the  reform  of  their  Church ;  the 
second,  to  stimulate  the  Armenians  to  efforts  in  this  de- 
partment by  a  practical  exhibition  of  the  benefits  of  edu- 
cation ;  and  the  third,  to  furnish  a  model  school  for  them 
to  imitate.  The  school  was  opened,  October  27,  1834, 
under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Paspati,  a  native  of 
Scio,  who  had  been  educated  in  America,  and  who,  by 
his  religious  character,  as  well  as  his  intellectual  train- 
ing, proved  himself  to  be  well  fitted  for  this  post. 

The  accession  of  additional  laborers  from  America  to 
the  Armenian  field,  is  another  in  the  combination  of 
circumstances  giving  importance  to  the  present  year. 
The  Rev.  John  B.  Adger  joined  the  Smyrna  station  during 


STATION    AT    BRUSA.  31 

the  month  of  October,  1834,  with  instructions  to  devote 
himself  to  the  Armenian  branch  of  the  mission.  Two 
new  stations  were  occupied,  one  at  Brusa,  and  the  other  at 
Trebizond  ;  the  former  by  the  Rev.  B.  Schneider,  and  the 
latter  by  the  Rev.  T.  P.  Johnston.  Brusa  is  situated  in 
the  ancient  province  of  Bithynia,  at  the  foot  of  Mount 
Olympus,  and  is  computed  to  have  a  population  of  about 
eighty  or  ninety  thousand  souls,  five  or  six  thousand  of 
w^hom  are  Armenians. 

Mr.  Schneider  arrived  here  with  his  family  on  the  15th 
of  July,  1834.  He  had  previously  visited  the  place  from 
Constantinople,  in  company  with  Mr.  G-oodell,  and  had 
left  Mr.  Hohannes  Sahakian  there  to  open  a  school  among 
the  Armenians  on  the  Lancasterian  plan.  So  far  as 
could  be  seen  on  this  first  visit,  both  the  Armenians  and 
the  Greeks  were  ready  to  give  him  a  hearty  welcome. 
On  his  return,  however,  he  found  the  appearance  of 
things  somewhat  changed,  owing,  as  usual,  to  the  hostil- 
ity of  some  of  the  Ecclesiastics.  The  Greek  Bishop 
forbade  his  people  furnishing  the  missionary  with  a  house, 
although  one  had  previously  been  pledged  to  him  by  a 
prominent  member  of  the  Greek  community.  The  inde- 
pendence of  the  owner  enabled  Mr.  Schneider  to  secure  a 
residence  in  spite  of  the  bishop. 

The  room  for  the  Armenian  school,  and  the  apparatus 
were  in  readiness,  but  ecclesiastical  interference  for 
awhile  delayed  the  opening  of  the  school.  The  vartabed 
of  the  Armenian  Church,  was  the  leading  opposer,  and  he 
intimidated  the  people  by  telling  them  that  "  it  was  a 
Protestant  concern,  and  that  the  children  sent  there 
would  all  become  Lutherans."  Several  meetings  of  the 
Armenian  Ecclesiastics  and  principal  laymen  were  held, 


32  STATION    AT    TREBIZOND. 

and  after  much  discussion  and  some  altercation,  it  was 
decided  to  suffer  the  school  to  go  on.  On  the  first  day,  it 
was  visited  by  some  of  the  Armenian  primates,  accom- 
panied by  the  vartabed,  all  of  whom  pronounced  it  "good." 
The  same  day,  the  names  of  seventy  children  were 
enrolled  as  pupils.  Mr.  Schneider's  labors  were  at  first 
divided  between  the  Armenians  and  the  G-reeks. 

Trebizond,  the  second  new  station  occupied,  is  situated 
near  the  southeastern  extremity  of  the  Black  Sea,  and  is 
supposed  to  be  the  precise  spot  where  Xenophon,  with 
his  retreating  army,  first  touched  the  sea.  It  has  about 
15,000  inhabitants,  1,250  of  whom  are  Armenians.  Its 
chief  importance  as  a  missionary  station,  arises  from  the 
fact  of  its  being  the  principal  sea-port  of  ancient  Armenia, 
and  its  consequent  influence  over  the  proper  country  of  the 
Armenian  race.  Mr.  Johnston  first  visited  it  in  November, 
1834.  Through  priestly  interference,  he  was  foiled  in 
three  successive  attempts  to  procure  a  house,  and  at  last, 
he  only  secured  a  contract  for  one,  on  condition  that  he 
should  obtain  a  firman  from  Constantinople,  permitting 
him  to  reside  there.  Through  the  kind  interposition  of 
Commodore  Porter,  the  United  States  Minister  at  the 
Porte,  a  Yizierial  letter  was  procured  ordering  the  Pasha 
of  Trebizond  to  see  that  Mr.  .lohnston  suffered  no  further 
molestation  in  regard  to  a  place  of  residence  ;  and  he 
removed  there  with  his  family  in  the  spring  of  1835. 
The  breaking  out  of  the  plague,  however,  prevented  him 
from  having  much  intercourse  with  the  people  for  some 
months. 

At  the  capital,  the  number  of  those  who  declared 
themselves  Protestants  rapidly  increased.  Not  only  in 
the   city  proper,  but    throughout  the    suburbs    and   the 


PROSPERITY    AT    CONSTANTINOPLE.  33 

villages  on  the  Bosphorus,  wherever  Armenians  were 
found,  there  was  an  increasing  disposition  to  talk  on  reli- 
gious subjects.  In  every  circle  where  only  three  or  four 
even  were  found  in  company,  some  were  sure  to  be 
present  who  did  not  hesitate  to  avow  the  sentiment,  that 
the  Bible  is  the  only  infallible  guide  in  matters  of 
religion.  And  this  was  often  done  fearlessly,  even  though 
some  of  those  present  were  very  bigoted  Armenians.  The 
testimonies  of  the  Lord  proved  indeed  "  wonderful,"  as 
the  Psalmist  says,  in  breaking  down  prejudice  and 
removing  the  rubbish  of  centuries  from  the  mind  :  "  The 
entrance  of  thy  words  giveth  light ;  it  giveth  understand- 
ing to  the  simple."  It  was  our  privilege  to  witness  con- 
stantly the  most  striking  illustrations  of  this  among  the 
people  around  us.  As  much  as  in  us  lay,  we  avoided 
controversy  about  forms  and  ceremonies  ;   and  instead  of 

,  attacking  directly  the  superstitions  of  the  Church,  we 
rather  determined  to  "know  nothing  but  Christ  and  him 
crucified."  And  it  was  truly  marvellous  how  rapidly 
darkness  was  dissipated  from  the  mind  ;  and  deep  seated 
error,  and  inveterate  bigotry,  and  a  host  of  evil  habits  of 
thought,  and  wayward  dispositions,  which  seemed  to 
present  insuperable  barriers  to  reform,  all  vanished  before 
the  simple  truth  of  Grod  as  it  is  found  in  his  word.  Not 
all,  however,  whose  minds  were  somewhat  awakened 
were  led  ultimately  to  decide  in  favor  of  the  truth  ;  and 
not  all  who  fully  renounced  the  errors  of  their  Church, 
were  led  to  feel  the  saving  power  of  the  Grospel  on  their 
hearts.  Still  it  was  a  point  of  immense  importance, 
that  so  many  were  ready  to  assent  to  the  principle  that 

...  the  Bible,  and  not  the  Church,  is  the  infallible  religious 
teacher  ;  and,  in  addition  to  this,  cases  of  true  spiritual 


t 


34  PROSPERITY    AT    CONSTANTINOPLE. 

conversion  were  every  now  and  then  occurring.  Among 
these  may  be  placed  Der  Kevork,  the  most  learned  of  the 
fifteen  priests,  whose  ordination  we  witnessed.  He  then 
had  charge  of  a  school  of  about  400  boys,  supported  by 
the  Armenians  themselves,  and  in  no  way  connected 
with  the  missionaries.  He  soon  introduced  the  custom 
of  reading  the  Scriptures  daily,  and  explaining  them  to 
the  whole  school ;  and  he  also  formed  a  class  of  twenty 
of  his  most  promising  scholars,  for  the  critical  study  of 
the  New  Testament  under  his  immediate  direction. 

One  room  in  Mr.  G-oodell's  house  was  always  open  for 
Armenians  to  come  together  and  pray  for  the  outpouring 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  on  themselves  and  their  "  brethren, 
their  kindred  according  to  the  flesh."  One  at  least  of  the 
native  brethren,  being  unmarried,  established  family 
prayer  in  his  father's  household  ;  reading  the  Scriptures 
and  praying  daily  with  his  mother  and  younger  brother. 
This  was  in  the  summer  of  1835,  and,  so  far  as  we 
know,  was  the  first  instance  of  the  kind  among  the 
Armenians.  He  also  held  a  prayer  meeting  every 
evening,  with  a  few  of  the  students  of  the  High  School, 
and  a  Bible  class  on  the  Sabbath.  The  High  School 
had  now  increased  from  three  to  thirty  pupils,  and  it 
had  also  grown  greatly  in  favor  with  the  people.  The 
English,  French,  Italian,  Armenian,  Turkish,  Grreek,  and 
Hebrew  languages  were  taught,  as  well  as  the  mathe- 
matics, geography,  &c.,  and  lectures  were  given,  illus- 
trated by  experiments,  on  various  branches  of  the  natural 
sciences.  Mr.  Paspati  having  left  for  Paris,  Mr. 
Hohannes  Sahakian  was  appointed  to  the  superintendency 
of  the  school,  assisted  by  several  other  teachers.  Visitors 
of  all   classes  were   numerous,  sometimes   even   incor]. 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    VICAR.  35 

veniently  so,  and  the  lectures  were  attended    by  many 
deeply-interested  spectators. 

Externally  friendly  relations  were  still  preserved  with 
the  ecclesiastical  authorities  of  the  Armenian  Church. 
That  they  did  not  openly  oppose  us,  was  not  because  they 
were  not  frequently  and  loudly  warned  by  the  emis- 
saries of  the  Church  of  Rome ;  nor  because  there  were 
none  among  them  whose  feelings  were  decidedly  and 
strongly  inimical.  One  cause  of  their  forbearance  was, 
no  doubt,  the  sudden  popularity  of  the  Bible  cause  among 
high  and  low  of  the  people  ;  so  that  they  were  unable  to 
divine  how  much  strength  might  be  arrayed  against 
them,  should  they  seriously  set  themselves  to  work  to 
oppose  the  spread  of  the  truth.  Another,  was  the  impos- 
sibility of  agreeing  among  themselves  exactly  what 
measures  of  opposition  to  adopt.  The  Patriarch  at  this 
time,  Stepan  by  name — the  second  that  had  been  upon 
the  throne  since  the  establishment  of  the  mission — ^was  a 
man  of  mild  and  peaceable  character,  and  not  at  all  inclined 
to  adopt  severe  measures.  We  had  not  infrequent  inter- 
course with  him,  and  he  uniformly  treated  us  with 
marked  attention  and  respect.  In  the  month  of  August, 
one  of  the  highest  of  the  Armenian  primates,  at  whose 
house  the  Patriarch  was  a  guest,  sent  a  special  invitation 
to  the  author  to  meet  him  there.  The  Patriarch  ex- 
pressed great  delight  at  seeing  me,  and,  turning  to  the 
circle  of  Armenians  present,  said:  "  This  is  our  friend.''^ 
"We  have  long  since  learned,  however,  that  such  expres- 
sions in  the  East  are  generally  to  be  understood  as  hav- 
ing very  little  meaning.  The  vicar  of  the  Patriarch, 
Boghos,  while  he  was  too  well  informed  to  be  really 
bigoted,  nevertheless  found  motives  enough  to  urge  him  to 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    VICAR. 


take  hostile  steps  against  the  spreading  reformation  ; 
though  as  yet  he  was  sufficiently  wise  to  do  nothing 
openly.  In  an  interview  with  the  jeweler  whose  case 
has  been  mentioned,  a  question  came  up  in  reference  to 
some  passage  of  Scripture,  when  the  latter  took  a  copy  of 
the  New  Testament  from  his  pocket  in  order  to  refer  to  it. 
The  Yicar  immediately  reproved  him  for  carrying  about 
with  him  a  New  Testament,  and  said  :  "If  you,  a  man 
of  so  much  importance  and  influence,  take  such  liberties, 
what  will  not  the  common  people  do  ?"  Some  days 
afterward,  he  said  to  a  merchant,  who  was  an  evangel- 
ical man,  though  probably  not  known  to  the  Vicar  as 
such :  "  I  see  that  all  the  people  are  running  after  the 
Bible,  and  I  do  not  know  what  it  is  all  coming  to ;  but  if 
there  is  to  be  an  overturning  in  the  Armenian  Church,  I 
shall  be  very  happy  if  it  comes  after  my  day."  In 
February,  1835,  he  became  so  anxious  in  regard  to  the 
spread  of  Protestantism,  that  he  privately  sent  one  of  his 
priests  to  visit  our  High  School.  The  priest  took  the 
number  and  names  of  the  scholars,  the  names  of  their 
parents,  &c.,  and  by  order  of  his  superior,  he  removed 
one  of  his  own  sons  who  was  among  the  pupils.  The 
Vicar  himself  also  took  occasion  to  question,  very  closely, 
one  of  the  scholars  whom  he  met  in  the  church,  as  to  his 
studies,  and  the  instructions  given  to  him  by  the  Amer- 
icans, &c.,  &c.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  that  he  now 
meditated  some  decisive  steps  in  order  to  put  a  stop,  if 
possible,  to  the  school ;  but  either  its  great  popularity,  or 
some  other  consideration,  deterred  him.  Several  high 
vartabeds  and  bishops  of  the  Armenian  Church  some  of 
whom  had  been  known  to  us  for  years,  were  at  this  time 
on  terms  of  friendly  intimacy  with  the  missionaries.     It 


BISHOP    MATTEOS.  37 

was  not  at  all  uncommon  for  them  to  express  the 
decided  conviction,  that  the  truth  was  with  us  ;  and  some 
few  of  them  seemed,  at  times,  almost  on  the  point  of 
yielding  their  hearts  to  its  influence.  In  general,  how- 
ever, they  were  men  of  no  fixed  religious  principles  ; 
ready  to  be  turned  in  any  direction,  according  to  the 
wishes  of  a  few  influential  men,  on  whose  favor  their  ad- 
vancement in  office  and  emolument  depended.  Of 
course  it  can  easily  be  understood,  how  men  of  this  char- 
acter, whether  actually  in  a  station  of  power,  or  only 
seeking  or  expecting  such  a  post,  should  one  day  exhibit 
great  friendliness  towards  us,  and  the  next,  in  order  to 
please  some  rich  and  influential  bigot  among  the  people, 
assume  an  attitude  of  hostility. 

An  illustration  of  this  is  found  in  the  conduct  of  Mat" 
teos,  the  newly  appointed  bishop  of  Brusa.  He  was  for- 
merly situated  in  a  village  on  the  Bosphorus,  and  was  one 
of  the  earliest  friends  of  our  mission,  among  the  higher 
Armenian  Ecclesiastics,  having  imbibed  many  enlightened 
views  of  the  truth.  Even  after  his  removal  to  Brusa,  he 
expressed  to  us,  by  letter,  the  most  friendly  sentiments  ; 
and  when  Mr.  Schneider  called  upon  him,  soon  after  his 
arrival,  he  avowed,  in  very  decided  terms,  his  approbation 
of  the  school,  recently  established  by  the  mission  in 
Brusa.  Not  many  months  elapsed,  however,  before  this 
school  was  entirely  broken  up,  through  the  influence  of 
this  same  prelate,  who  also  endeavored,  in  other  ways,  to 
circumscribe  the  operations  of  the  missionaries.  His  sub- 
sequent hostile  acts  in  Brusa,  will  be  noticed  in  their 
proper  place ;  as  well  as  more  recent  ones,  in  a  wider 
sphere,  and  of  a  far  more  extended  and  important  influ- 
ence.    On  account  of  the  melancholy  interest  connected 


38  BOOK    DISTRIBUTION. 

with  the  history  of  this  man,  it  is  well  that  the  reader 
should  here  be  apprised,  that  he  is  the  individual  who  after- 
wards made  himself  so  notorious  as,  Matteos  Patriarch, 

THE  persecutor  OF  THE  PrOTESTANTS   IN   TuRKEY. 

The  Brusa  station  was  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of 
the  Rev.  P.  0.  Powers  and  wife,  in  February,  1835. 
Being  intended  for  the  Armenian  department  of  the  mis- 
sion, in  the  month  of  October  he  took  up  his  abode  in  the 
Armenian  quarter  of  the  town, — Mr.  Schneider  continuing 
to  reside  among  the  G-reeks.  From  this  station,  within 
the  first  eighteen  months  after  its  establishment,  more  than 
a  thousand  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  and  more  than  fifteen 
hundred  school  books  were  distributed,  besides  a  consider- 
able number  of  religious  tracts,  many  of  them  having 
been  carried  to  remote  places  in  the  interior.  It  is  true 
that  most  of  these  books  were  in  the  G-reek  language,  our 
press  not  having  as  yet  furnished  many  for  the  Arme- 
nians ;  and  yet,  many  copies  of  the  New  Testament,  both 
in  the  Armeno-Turkish,  and  the  modern  Armenian,  were 
numbered  among  them. 

The  preparation  of  books  and  tracts  in  these  last-named 
languages,  became  more  and  more  an  object  of  attention, 
and  Mr.  Hallock,  the  missionary  printer,  visited  the  United 
States  to  superintend  the  manufacture,  at  New  York,  of 
punches  for  making  Armenian  type  for  the  press  in 
Smyrna  ;  and  the  liberal  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars 
was  appropriated  to  this  object,  and  for  the  purchase  of 
materials  for  a  foundry  and  printing  office,  by  the  Pru- 
dential Committee.  Mr.  Sarkis,  one  of  the  pious  Arme- 
nians in  Constantinople,  and  an  eminent  scholar  in  his 
own  language  and  literature,  removed  to  Smyrna,  to  be 


VISIT    TO    THE    PATRIARCH  39 

employed  as  translator,  in  connection  with  the  press, 
under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Adger. 

On  new  year's  day,  1836,  Mr.  Groodell  and  myself  called 
on  Stepan,  the  Armenian  Patriarch,  accompanied  hy  Mr. 
Homes,  who  joined  the  Constantinople  station,  near  the 
close  of  December.  When  the  Patriarch  was  informed  that 
Mr.  Homes  had  recently  arrived  from  Paris,  he  enquired 
after  European  nev/s.  Among  other  things,  Mr.  H.  stated, 
that  in  Spain  and  Portugal  a  great  change  had  recently 
taken  place  in  one  respect,  namely,  that  now  the  Sacred 
Scriptures  may  be  circulated  freely  among  the  people. 
At  this  the  Patriarch  expressed  great  astonishment,  and 
asked,  with  much  earnestness  :  '*  Are  they  not  Christians 
there  ?"  The  incident  is  related  chiefly  as  an  illustration 
of  the  character  of  the  high  dignitary  who  put  this  ques- 
tion. There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  his  sincerity,  and  yet, 
a  predecessor  on  the  same  throne,  did  prohibit  the  circula- 
tion of  the  Scriptures  in  the  vulgar  tongue,  and  so  also 
his  two  successors  in  office  have  done,  as  well  as  the 
great  Synod  of  the  whole  Armenian  Church  at  Echmiad- 
zin. It  must  be  regarded  as  a  great  providential  favor, 
that,  in  this  stage  of  the  reformation,  a  man  of  so  quiet 
and  peaceable  a  disposition,  and  so  little  disposed  to 
interfere  with  the  private  rights  of  conscience,  was  called 
to  occupy  this  important  post.  This  same  individual, 
some  years  afterwards,  in  another  sphere,  was  induced  by  a 
regard  to  certain  rich  and  powerful  members  of  the  com- 
munity, to  sanction,  by  official  acts,  such  measures  of  op- 
pression and  persecution,  as  would  now  have  been  per- 
fectly abhorrent  to  his  feelings. 

Such  was  the  desire  of  those  who  had  come  under  our 
influence,  for  religious   instruction,  that,  near  the  begin- 


40  ECCLESIASTICAL    INaUIRERS. 

ning  of  1836,  two  weekly  meetings  were  established  in 
Constantinople,  one  of  which  was  conducted  by  Mr. 
G-oodell,  and  the  other  by  Mr.  Schauffler,  in  the  Turkish 
language.  Although  no  very  remarkable  incident  occur- 
red for  many  months,  in  connection  with  the  reformation, 
yet  we  had  almost  daily  evidences  of  the  progress  of  the 
work.  It  was  like  the  spreading  of  leaven,  for  the  most 
part  silent,  but  sure.  Our  intercourse  with  the  Armenian 
people  of  all  classes,  was  never  more  free,  and  on  the 
whole,  never  more  satisfactory.  Our  houses  were 
frequented  by  ecclesiastics,  as  well  as  laymen,  some  four 
or  five  of  the  former,  chiefly  from  among  the  parochial 
clergy,  appearing  to  be  sincere  inquirers  after  the  truth. 
One  of  these,  attached  to  the  Patriarchal  Church,  proposed, 
of  his  own  accord,  that  we  should  publish  a  new  and 
revised  edition  of  the  modern  Armenian  New  Testament ; 
so  that  all  the  people  might  have  access  to  the  Word  of 
Grod  in  an  intelligible  language.  He  offered  to  subscribe 
five  hundred  piastres,  (about  $23)  himself,  towards  the 
object,  and  to  procure  more  from  others.  It  was  gratify- 
ing to  see  some  of  the  most  influential  vartabeds  at  the 
patriarchate,  disposed  to  encourage,  rather  than  hinder  us 
in  our  educational  efforts.  They  often  visited  our  High 
School,  and  on  a  certain  occasion,  when  an  assistant 
teacher,  who  was  an  Armenian,  was  dismissed  for  bad 
conduct ;  two  of  them  came  expressly  to  intercede  with  us 
for  his  return  ;  and  on  our  agreeing  to  receive  him  again  on 
trial,  they  called  up  the  delinquent,  and  read  him  a  long 
lecture  on  the  necessity  of  reforming  his  conduct,  and 
after  procuring  from  him  the  most  positive  promises  of 
good  behavior,  they  sent  him  back  to  us,  with  a  letter 
offering  to   be  responsible  for  him. 


EVANGELICAL   SERMONS.  41 

It  was  now  not  an  uncommon  thing,  to  hear  of  one  and 
another  of  the  bishops  and  vartabeds,  preaching  what  were 
called  evangelical  sermons ;  that  is,  instead  of  bringing  for- 
ward the  legends  of  the  saints,  as  they  had  been  wont,  at- 
tempting to  draw  their  instructions  from  the  Sacred  Scrip- 
tures. This  was  one  of  the  signs  of  the  times  ;  indicating,  at 
least,  a  change  in  the  people,  who  required  such  preaching, 
if  not  in  the  ecclesiastics  who  gave  it.  Subsequent  facts 
have  shown,  in  regard  to  most  of  the  latter,  that  public 
opinion,  at  that  time  somewhat  clamorous  for  reform, 
more  than  personal  conviction  and  interest  in  the  subject, 
led  to  this  new  style  of  address.  Instances  of  greater 
frankness  and  honesty,  however,  were  not  wanting.  Some 
could  not  conceal  the  hostility  of  their  hearts.  A 
preacher  of  distinction,  uttered  the  following  sentiment 
in  one  of  his  sermons  : — "  Many  in  these  days  decry  fast- 
ing, and  pretend  that  fasts  are  not  binding.  Let  all  such 
be  anathematized.  If  they  say  that  fasting  is  not 
enjoined  in  the  Scriptures,  let  them  know  that  the  first 
command  given  to  Adam  and  Eve,  was  to  abstain  from 
eating  the  fruit  of  a  certain  tree,  which  was,  in  fact,  fast- 
ing"! A  female  who  was  present,  on  leaving  the 
church,  remarked,  "  I  never  hear  our  preachers  preach 
about  anything  else  but  fasting  and  money.  They  never 
preach  the  Gospel." 

One  of  our  brethren,  who  was  rather  prominent  as  a 
reformer,  was  publicly  accused  of  infidelity  by  a  priest ; 
and  on  the  following  Sabbath,  one  of  the  vartabeds  of  the 
Church  denounced  him  before  the  people,  as  a  heretic  and 
an  infidel,  whose  case  was  soon  to  be  tried  by  a  council 
of  ecclesiastics  and  laymen.  It  would  seem  to  be  revers- 
ing the  natural  and  proper  order  of  things,  first  to  con- 


42  HOSTILE    MANIFESTATION. 

demn  a  man  publicly,  and  then  institute  a  court  of  inquiry 
to  investigate  the  charges  brought  against  him  !  But  this  is 
not  an  unusual  occurrence  in  the  East,  either  in  Church 
or  State.  The  council  was  afterwards  held,  and  although 
the  accused  declared  plainly  that  he  had  no  confidence 
whatever  in  the  mediation  of  the  saints,  and  that  he  re- 
ceived the  Grospel  as  his  only  and  all-sufficient  guide ; — 
yet  he  was  fully  acquitted.  He  had  previously  expressed 
to  a  vartabed,  some  apprehension  as  to  the  result  of  this 
investigation,  and  he  received  for  his  comfort  the  follow- 
ing reply  :  "  You  have  nothing  to  fear,  for  there  are  many 
now  like  you,  who  think  and  talk  according  to  the  Grospel, 
and  you  are  by  no  means  alone."  It  was  very  evident 
that  among  those  inimical  to  this  movement,  there  pre- 
vailed at  this  time  very  exaggerated  notions  of  the  num- 
ber who  had  actually  embraced  evangelical  sentiments, 
and  who  were  now  frequently  called  "evangelical  infi- 
dels." Some  said  that  there  were  at  least  eight  hundred 
of  them  in  the  city  of  Constantinople  alone.  If  reference 
is  had  to  those  who  had  clear  and  distinct  views  of  what 
are  called  the  evangelical  doctrines,  and  were  prepared  to 
adhere  to  them  at  all  hazards,  in  opposition  to  the  dog- 
mas and  practices  of  the  Church  ;  this  was  undoubtedly 
an  enormous  exaggeration.  And  yet  there  may  have  been 
even  a  larger  number,  who  had  felt,  in  different  degrees, 
the  influence  of  the  truth  ;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  religious 
discussions,  then  so  common  in  every  part  of  the  capital, 
were  forward  to  speak  against  certain  abuses  of  the 
Church.  This  gave  an  impression  of  the  strength  of  the 
evangelical  party  not  founded  in  truth,  though  it  operated, 
for  some  time,  as  a  check  upon  those  who  otherwise  might 


ROMISH    INFLUENCE.        ^  43 

have  resorted  to  measures  of  open  violence,  to  put  down 
the  work. 

The  distant  rumblings  of  a  gathering  storm,  were,  how- 
ever, now  and  then  heard  ;  and  we  had  occasion  to  know 
that  the  most  diligent  and  persevering  efforts  were  made, 
by  certain  adherents  of  the  Romish  Church,  to  stir  up  the 
Armenians  against  us.  Hitherto,  no  direct  means  had 
been  used  by  us,  to  enlighten  that  portion  of  the  Arme- 
nian race,  who  acknowledge  the  suprem.acy  of  the  Pope. 
They  may  amount,  perhaps,  to  fifteen  or  twenty  thou- 
sand, having  a  Patriarch  of  their  own,  according  to  usage 
in  Turkey.  In  July  of  1836  this  functionary  felt  himself 
called  upon  to  come  out  with  a  public  denunciation  of  all 
our  books,  including  the  New  Testament.  And,  what  is 
quite  worthy  of  remark,  he  expressly  prohibited  his  people 
from  purchasing  or  procuring  from  us,  copies  of  an  edi- 
tion of  the  Armenian  Scriptures  which  had  been  printed 
at  their  own  press  in  Venice,  and  purchased  several  years 
before  for  cheap  circulation,  by  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society. 

As  has  been  more  than  once  intimated,  we  had  not  felt 
it  to  be  our  duty  to  attack  directly  the  superstitions  of 
the  Armenian  Church,  having  all  along  acted  on  the  prin- 
ciple, that  the  readiest  method  of  eradicating  error  from 
the  mind,  is  to  pour  in  the  truth.  We  were  not,  therefore, 
surprised  to  find,  that  as  the  people  became  instructed  in 
the  word  of  Grod,  through  the  operation  of  their  own 
minds,  one  superstition  after  another  was  discovered  and 
rejected.  An  old  gentleman  one  day  came  to  me  with 
the  following  complaint,  in  reference  to  an  adopted  son, 
who  had  been  under  our  instruction,  though  we  had 
n'  s'er  said  a  word  to  him  about  fasts,  or  confession.    "  He 


44  CHARACTER    OF    THE    WORK. 

does  not  keep  his  fasts,  nor  would  he  go  to  confession 
until  T  finally  compelled  him  ;  and  then  he  made  a  very 
singular  kind  of  confession  to  the  priest.  He  first  told 
the  priest  that  he  acknowledged  only  the  Scriptures  as 
his  rule  of  faith  and  practice  ;  and  rejected  whatever  is 
not  derived  from  them,  or  conformed  to  them  ;  and  that, 
as  to  the  saints  and  the  fasts  of  the  Church,  he  knew 
nothing  about  them."  It  may  here  be  remarked,  that  at 
this  period,  the  Armenian  priests  were  remarkably  lenient 
towards  the  evangelical  brethren,  in  the  matter  of  con- 
fession ;  and  the  latter,  while  conforming  externally  to 
this  ordinance  of  the  Church,  protested  against  the  claim 
of  absolution  by  a  priest,  and  made  use  of  the  ceremony  as 
the  occasion  of  communicating  to  their  spiritual  guides, 
many  enlightened  views  of  the  Gospel. 

On  another  occasion,  at  a  large  public  school,  at  which 
I  was  present,  after  the  boys,  in  going  through  the  usual 
closing  religious  ceremonies  in  the  afternoon,  had  crossed 
themselves  rapidly  some  fifty  or  sixty  times  ;  the  principal 
teacher,  whose  name  was  Bedros,  turned  to  me  with  an 
air  of  mortification,  and  said,  "  What  does  this  crossing 
mean  ;  and  how  has  it  been  introduced  into  the  Church  ?" 
He  then  expressed  the  opinion,  that  it  was  first  used,  simply 
as  an  external  sign,  by  which  Christians,  when  among 
inimical  Jews  and  Heathens,  silently  recognized  one 
another  :  "  But,"  said  he,  "  it  is  now  unnecessary,  or  at 
least,  there  is  no  need  of  repeating  it  as  we  do.  My 
name,  you  know,  is  Bedros  ;  now  what  would  be  the  use 
of  my  repeating  a  great  number  of  times  to  you ;  '  my 
name  is  Bedros  ;  my  name  is  Bedros,'  "  &c.,  &c. 

As  another  illustration  of  the  workings  of  the  mind  and 
conscience,  under  the  gradual  apprehension  of  the  truth, 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    WORK.  45 

it  may  be  mentioned  that  about  this  time,  a  formal  visit 
was  made  to  the  missionaries,  by  four  Armenians,  whose 
object  was  to  ascertain  their  duty  in  regard  to  certain 
ceremonies  of  their  Church,  towards  which  their  atteiition 
had  been  strongly  directed,  without  any  of  our  agency. 
While  among  the  evangelical  brethren,  a  growing  con- 
scientiousness was  constantly  manifested,  we  were  also 
often  surprised  to  hear,  from  the  lips  even  of  those  who 
had  hitherto  shown  nothing  but  worldliness  and  indiffer- 
ence, such  expressions  as  evinced  a  sudden  waking  up  to 
the  evil  of  sin,  and  to  the  actual  plague  of  their  own 
hearts.  Said  a  man,  one  day,  to  a  missionary,  ''  I  am  a 
great  sinner."  Ans.  Yes,  but  Jesus  Christ  is  a  great 
Saviour ;  and  he  is  always  near  and  ready  to  save. 
"Yes,"  he  quickly  answered,  "he  has  saved  you,  and 
now  it  is  my  prayer  that  he  may  save  me  also." 

If  a  description  of  the  character  of  this  work  were 
desired  in  a  few  words,  it  could  not,  perhaps,  be  better 
expressed,  than  in  the  following  sentence  from  the  pen  of 
Mr.  Groodell,  written  early  in  1836 : — "  As  to  the  great 
work  of  reform  which  has  been  steadily  advancing  among 
the  Armenians,  for  the  last  two  or  three  years  ;  and  of 
which  we  think  it  our  duty  to  give  you  much  more  full 
accounts  in  time  to  come,  for  your  encouragement  as 
well  as  ours  ;  T  will  merely  remark,  that  the  character  of 
the  work  seems  to  be  just  this — a  simple  and  entire  yield' 
ing  up  of  the  heart  and  life  to  the  sole  direction  ofGoWs 
Word  and  BpiritP 

The  gospel  had  now  been  proclaimed  to  multitudes  of 
people  by  conversation  in  private  circles,  both  in  the 
Turkish  and  Armenian  languages,  for  many  years  ;  and  a 
formal  expository  service  had  been  held  in  Turkish,  by 


46    ,  CHARACTER    OF    THE    WORK. 

Mr.  Goodell,  for  some  time.  The  first  regular  sermon  in 
the  Armenian  tongue,  was  preached,  however,  by  Mr. 
Dwight,  on  the  9th  of  September,  1836,  to  a  small  select 
company  in  his  own  house.  The  monthly  concert  of 
prayer  increased  in  interest ;  and  one  of  these  occasions  is 
worthy  of  special  record  in  this  place.  It  was  becoming 
more  and  more  evident,  as  the  year  1836  advanced,  that 
the  ecclesiastical  rulers  of  the  Armenian  Church  were 
gathering  up  their  strength  to  oppose  the  progress  of  the 
reformation.  Still  we  felt  that  they  were  not  altogether 
to  be  censured,  considering  their  circumstances,  but  also 
to  be  pitied ;  that,  instead  of  ranking  them  with  the  in- 
corrigible enemies  of  Grod,  we  should  endeavor  to  speak 
of  them  with  kindness,  and  cherish  towards  them  feelings 
of  prayerful  tenderness.  It  was  agreed,  therefore,  among 
the  missionaries  at  Smyrna  and  Constantinople,  that  the 
day  should  be  especially  devoted  to  prayer  for  the  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  rulers  of  the  country,  and  particularly 
the  latter.  The  season  was  one  of  special  interest,  and 
all  seemed  to  esteem  it  a  privilege,  to  supplicate  the 
descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  ''  all  bishops,  priests,  and 
deacons  ;"  that  they  might  be  candid  men.  open  to  con- 
viction, ready  to  understand  and  do  their  duty,  submis- 
sive to  the  authority  of  Zion's  King ;  or  at  least  that  Grod 
would  so  order  and  control  their  purposes  and  acts,  that 
his  own  people,  under  their  jurisdiction,  might  "  lead 
quiet  and  peaceable  lives,  in  all  godliness  and  honesty." 

It  was  pleasing  to  see,  that  through  the  influence  of  the 
mission  and  the  native  brethren,  female  education,  which 
had  been  almost  entirely  neglected,  was  beginning  to  at- 
tract attention,  both  at  Constantinople  and  Smyrna.  At 
the  capital,  no  regular  school  for  females  had  yet  been 


FEMALE    EDUCATION.  47 

opened,  but,  in  some  instances,  parents  were  providing 
for  their  daughters  the  means  of  instruction,  and  one  at 
least  of  the  evangelical  brethren,  had  a  class  of  some 
twelve  or  fourteen  Armenian  girls  who  were  learning  to 
read.  In  Smyrna,  a  school  for  A.rmenian  girls  was 
established  by  the  mission,  in  the  summer  of  1836.  A 
commodious  room  was  secured,  and  it  was  furnished  with 
benches,  desks,  cards,  frames,  &c.,  and  the  school  was 
opened  with  the  express  approbation  of  a  number  of  in- 
fluential men  in  the  community.  In  the  course  of  the 
first  week  more  than  forty  girls  attended.  Owing  to  one 
or  two  jealous  spirits,  however,  a  meeting  of  the  commu- 
nity was  soon  called,  and  it  was  agreed  to  take  the  new 
enterprise  into  their  own  hands.  It  was  cheerfully  relin- 
quished to  them  by  the  missionaries,  who  were  thankful 
they  had  been  the  means  of  calling  into  existence  a 
school  for  females,  which  was  sure  to  do  good,  though  it 
did  not  retain  a  direct  connection  with  the  mission. 

In  Briisa,  there  were  many  among  the  Armenians  who 
professed  friendly  feelings  towards  the  missionaries  ;  but 
in  general,  spiritually  considered,  the  silence  and  insensi- 
bility of  death  reigned  among  them.  The  bishop  Matteos 
showed  more  openly  a  hostile  disposition,  though  he  did 
not  yet  see  his  way  clear  to  take  decided  ground  against 
the  mission.  Mr.  Schneider  was  applied  to  by  an  Ar- 
menian priest  from  Erzrum,  a  place  about  seven  or  eight 
hundred  miles  in  the  interior,  for  a  quantity  of  Armenian 
and  Armeno-Turkish  New  Testaments,  for  distribution 
among  the  poor.  A  missionary  tour,  performed  by  Messrs. 
Schneider  and  Powers  in  the  autumn  of  1836,  to  the 
large  town  of  Kutayh,  was  only  one  of  a  series  of  sim- 
ilar efforts  made   by  the  brethren  of  that  station,  the 


48  MISSIONARY    TOURS. 

results  of  which  cannot  at  once  be  seen,  but  are  notwith- 
standing of  inestimable  consequence.  Nor  can  we  say 
less  of  a  tour  made  by  Mr.  Johnston  of  Trebizond,  to 
Tocat,  Sivas,  Erzengan,  Erzriim,  and  other  places  in 
Asia  Minor  and  Armenia,  during  the  summer  of  the  same 
year.  To  these  visits  of  missionary  brethren  to  the  in- 
terior, accompanied,  as  they  usually  were,  by  some  one  of 
the  converted  Armenians,  must  be  ascribed  much  of  that 
spirit  of  inquiry,  which  subsequently  was  found  so  exten- 
sively to  prevail. 

The  station  at  Trebizond  was  reinforced  in  August, 
1836,  by  the  arrival  of  the  Rev.  W.  C.  Jackson  and  wife. 


f^. 


CHAPTER    III. 

Opposition  of  the  Hierarchy — Influence  of  the  Bankers — Their  Charac- 
ter— Breaking  up  of  the  High  School — School  at  Has  Keuy — Remarkable 
Providence — Influence  of  the  New  School — Light  Spreading — Perplex- 
ity of  the  Priests — Opposition  Spreading — Friendly  Vartabed — Mission- 
ary Convention — The  Plague — Removal  of  Pictures — Decline  of  the 
Has  Keuy  School — Origin  of  the  Work  in  Nicoraedia — Two  Converted 
Priests — Divine  Influences  at  Brflsa  and  Trebizond — Arrival  of  Mr. 
Riggs. 

Hitherto,  whatever  opposition  the  truth  had  encoun- 
tered was  raised  by  individuals,  as  such,  and  aimed 
chiefly  at  individuals  among  the  reformers.  No  open  and 
official  action  of  the  proper  ecclesiastical  authorities  had 
yet  been  taken.  The  Armenian  hierarchy  had  not  yet 
committed  itself  as  antagonistic  to  the  reform.  The 
opening  of  the  year  1 837,  however,  tells  a  different  tale. 
A  system  of  spiritual  oppression  and  tyranny,  based  upon 
popular  ignorance  and  superstition,  cannot  long  bear 
the  ordeal  of  free  inquiry  and  discussion,  in  the  light  that 
proceeds  from  the  Word  of  Grod.  That  the  Armenian 
Church  had  far  departed  from  the  simple  doctrine  of 
Christ,  and  that  its  religious  teachers  had  imposed  upon 
the  people  what  was  human  for  what  was  divine,  was 
now  understood  by  many,  and  was  rapidly  spreading  from 
3 


50  OPPOSITION    OF    THE    HIERARCHY. 

mouth  to  mouth.  Something  must  be  done  to  give  a 
check  to  the  freedom  of  inquiry,  and  awe  the  people  into 
continued  submission  to  the  priests.  The  thing  first  to 
be  accomplished,  was  to  withdraw  the  Armenians  from 
the  influence  of  the  missionaries,  who  were  felt  to  be  the 
mischievous  authors  of  the  evil.  Those  who  were  most 
interested  in  perpetuating  the  old  system,  would  of 
course  be  the  first  to  move  in  the  matter.  And  who 
could  be  more  interested  than  the  clergy?  There  are 
only  two  conceivable  motives  by  which  a  man  may  be 
induced  to  enter  the  ministry  of  any  church — namely, 
benevolence  or  selfishness  ;  the  desire  to  do  good,  or  the 
love  of  money,  power,  and  honor.  If  there  is  true 
piety  in  the  soul,  and  the  love  of  Christ  is  the  absorbing 
passion  ;  then,  it  is  plain,  the  benevolent  motive  will 
prevail.  But  if  the  individual  is  a  merely  worldly  man,  it 
is  impossible  to  believe  that  he  enters  the  sacred  office  with 
any  other  than  a  selfish  end.  And  who  needs  to  be  told,  at 
this  age  of  the  world,  what  a  supremely  worldly  and 
selfish  spirit  will  lead  a  man  to  do  in  circumstances  of 
temptation  ;  what  deception,  oppression,  and  extortion  it 
will  lead  him  to  practice,  when  the  opportunity  offers  ? 
The  history  of  the  Armenian  hierarchy,  as  written  by 
their  own  people,  has  been,  for  centuries  past,  a  history 
of  ambition,  avarice,  and  cruelty.  Nor  is  there  the  least 
evidence  that  any  change  had  taken  place  for  the  better, 
previous  to  the  beginning  of  the  present  religious  move- 
ment among  the  people.  No  candid  person,  acquainted 
with  the  facts  in  the  case,  could  be  in  the  least  surprised, 
that  the  ruling  clergy,  generally,  should  exert  themselves 
to  perpetuate,  if  possible,  the  prevailing  superstitions,  and 
of  course  to  oppose  the  reform. 


INFLUENCE    OF    THE    BANKERS.  51 

Bat  they  could  not  move  alone  in  this  business.  The 
sanction  of  the  bankers  must  be  obtained.  And  here  it  is 
necessary  to  give  a  few  words  of  explanation.  The  prin- 
cipal bankers  in  the  country,  at  that  time,  belonged  to 
the  Armenian  community.  Some  of  them  were  im- 
mensely rich,  and  of  course  influential,  even  with  the 
Turkish  government  itself.  According  to  the  system  then 
prevailing,  the  Pashas  and  governors  of  the  empire 
derived  their  support,  not  by  a  salary  from  the  govern- 
ment, but  by  taxes,  levied  by  themselves,  on  the  produce 
of  the  territory  over  which  they  had  jurisdiction,  and  by 
extortion.  Every  Pasha  had  his  banker,  who  furnished 
him  with  money  on  interest,  when  out  of  office,  or  when 
newly-appointed  to  office,  receiving  his  pay  by  participat- 
ing in  the  spoils  filched  afterwards  from  the  poor  people. 
This  arrangement,  it  will  be  seen,  gave  great  power  into 
the  hands  of  these  capitalists ;  so  that  it  was  virtually 
true,  that,  although  nominally  Christians,  nearly  all  the 
important  appointments  of  the  government  were  in  their 
hands.  Within  their  own  community,  of  course,  their 
word  was  law.  Patriarchs  were  elected  and  deposed  by 
them  ;  through  them,  bishops  and  vartabeds  received 
their  appointments  to  dioceses  and  churches.  It  gener- 
ally happened,  that  some  three,  or  four,  or  five,  of  the 
richest  and  most  powerful  of  these  men,  in  truth,  if  not 
in  form,  decided  every  question  of  any  importance,  per- 
taining to  the  civil  or  ecclesiastical  affairs  of  the  Arme- 
nian nation.  Sometimes  a  public  meeting  would  be 
called,  of  the  more  important  members  of  the  community, 
but  it  mattered  little  whether  the  form  were  gone 
through  with  or  not ;  the  decision  rested  with  these  four  or 
five  men ;  and  whatever  they  determined  upon,  was  every- 


52  THEIR    CHARACTER. 


J^ 


where  popularly  spoken  of  as  having  been  determined  by 
the  community.  As  a  class,  they  were  ignorant  and  big- 
oted, and,  therefore,  fit  tools  for  designing  ecclesiastics.^ 
Unacquainted  with  the  Bible,  to  a  great  extent,  and  with 
church  history,  ancient  and  modern,  they  were,  in  gene- 
ral, quite  ready  to  believe  any  misrepresentations  of  Pro- 
testantism which  their  own  religious  guides  should  give 
them ;  and  no  doubt  many  of  them  really  believed,  as 
they  were  told,  that  the  missionaries,  under  the  show  of 
religion  were  endeavoring  to  propagate  the  worst  infidel- 
ity. 

It  is  easy  to  see  how,  in  this  state  of  things,  any  indi- 
vidual office-bearer  in  the  Church,  whether  high  or  low, 
even  to  the  very  Patriarch  himself,  might  be  deterred  from 
acting,  in  his  official  capacity, ''according  to  the  policy  dic- 
tated by  his  own  mind.  Some  rival  in  the  holy  orders,  even 
much  lower  than  himself  in  rank,  might,  through  his 
superior  influence  with  one  or  more  of  these  bankers, 
procure  the  removal  from  office  of  the  obnoxious  in- 
dividual. 

In  the  case  before  us,  the  Patriarch  himself  seems  to 
have  been  nearly  passive  ;  and  his  Yicar,  to  have  been  the 
willing  agent  for  executing  the  stringent  measures  that 
were  adopted.  It  was  resolved  in  the  counsels  of  the 
Armenian  community,  that  is,  by  a  few  bankers,  as  a  first 
step,  to  break  up  our  High  School.  In  preparation  for 
this,  a  large  college  had  been  founded  some  months  before, 
at  Scutary ;  and  the  public  school,  superintended  by  Der 
Kevork,  in  the  quarter  of  Has  Keuy,  had  been  committed 


'^  Individual  exceptions  were  found  to  this  description  of  very  notable 
character,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  course  of  this  narrative. 


BREAKING    UP    OF    THE    HIGU    SCHOOL.  53 

to  the  general  supervision  of  one  of  the  great  bankers 
residing  there,  a  truly  noble-spirited  man,  that  it  might 
be  remodeled  according  to  his  own  wishes,  so  a  to 
make  it  a  first-rate  school.  As  learning  was  now  be- 
coming popular,  these  were  necessary  steps  in  order  to 
reconcile  the  people  to  the  shutting  up  of  the  American 
High  School.  Near  the  close  of  January,  1837,  the 
parents  of  our  scholars  were  summoned  before  the  Yicar, 
and  peremptorily  ordered  to  withdraw  their  sons  from  the 
school.  Some  of  the  boys  themselves  were  also  called  up 
and  interrogated  as  to  what  things  they  had  been  taught. 
After  enumerating  several  studies,  the  Vicar  asked,  with 
some  impatience,  "  Have  they  (the  missionaries)  not  told 
you  not  to  make  the  sign  of  the  cross,  because  it  is  not 
enjoined  in  the  Scriptures  ?"  The  boys  were  startled  at 
the  question,  which  they  very  promptly  answered  in  the 
negative.  They  then,  in  fact,  for  the  first  time,  learned 
that  making  the  sign  of  the  cross  is  not  enjoined  in  the 
Scriptures  !  Sorrow  was  depicted  on  every  face,  as  our 
pupils  came  back  to  get  their  books,  and  say  their  fare- 
wells ;  but  we  endeavored  to  comfort  them,  as  well  as 
ourselves,  under  the  trial,  by  expressing  our  belief  that 
Grod  would  bring  good  out  of  this  evil,  and  provide  for 
their  instruction  in  some  other  way,  if  they  desired  to  be 
taught.  This  school  had  now  been  in  successful  opera- 
tion for  more  than  two  years,  and  had  already  accom- 
plished much  good ;  but,  as  the  sequel  proved,  G-od 
designed  to  make  its  downfall  the  means  of  still  greater 
good. 

There  is  proof  enough  that  the  plan  of  the  opposing 
party  in  this  case,  was,  after  breaking  up  the  school,  to 
procure,  from  the  Turkish  government,  the  banishment 


54  SCHOOL    AT    HAS    KEUY. 

of  Mr.  Sahakian,  its  Principal,  and  several  others,  who 
were  considered  most  influential  among  the  evangelical 
brethren.  Great  was  their  astonishment  when  they 
heard,  that  no  sooner  was  this  hated  individual  released, 
by  their  act,  from  his  connection  with  us,  than  he  was 
engaged  by  the  banker  of  Has  Keuy,  to  take  the  superin- 
tendence of  the  great  national  school,  which  had  been 
placed  by  them  in  his  hands  !  Remonstrance  was  in 
vain.  Again  and  again  did  the  Yicar,  and  the  other 
bankers  also,  use  their  utmost  endeavors  to  persuade  him 
to  change  his  purpose.  They  first  tried  to  prevail  upon 
him  not  to  adopt  the  new  system  of  instruction,  which 
they  said  was  the  American  system.  To  this  he  replied, 
that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  Americans,  but  had  adopted 
this  system  because  it  was  good,  and  he  had  been  instruct- 
ed, when  the  school  was  given  over  to  his  hands,  to  make 
it  the  very  best  possible. 

They  then  objected  to  the  Principal,  saying  that  he 
was  evangelical  in  sentiment.  To  this  the  banker  replied, 
"  So  am  I  also  evangelical."  Nearly  three  weeks  were 
spent  in  efforts  to  induce  this  distinguished  individual  to 
yield  the  point,  but  in  vain.  He  declared,  positively,  that 
if  they  did  not  permit  him  ti  go  on  with  the  school  in  his 
own  way,  he  would  withdraw  entirely  from  the  Armenian 
community.  But  he  was  a  man  they  did  not  like  to  lose ; 
being  among  the  richest  and  most  influential  of  the  bank- 
ers. At  length,  a  providential  circumstance,  which  ren- 
dered it  necessary  for  the  leading  man  of  the  opposing 
party,  to  throw  himself  on  his  clemency,  in  a  business 
transaction,  decided  the  question  ;  and  a  school  of  six 
hundred  scholars  (instead  of  forty y  which  was  our  num- 
ber) was  soon  in  successful  operation,  under  the  super- 


INFLUENCE  OF  THE  NEW  SCHOOL.  55 

intendence  of  Mr.  Hohannes  Sahakian ;  having  Der  Ke- 
vork,  the  pious  priest,  for  one  of  its  principal  teachers  ! 

A  more  marked  example  of  the  over-ruling  providence 
of  God,  causing  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him,  could 
not  well  be  found.  The  banker  spoke  the  truth  when  he 
said  he  knew  nothing  of  the  Americans.  Up  to  the  time 
when  he  so  decidedly  avowed  and  maintained  himself  as 
the  patron  of  Mr.  Sahakian,  and,  in  fact,  of  the  evangelical 
cause  ;  he  was  wholly  unknown  to  the  missionaries  and 
the  evangelical  brethren  generally  ;  and  the  conclusion  is 
irresistible,  that  the  hand  of  God  was  in  this  whole  thing. 
This  individual  was  raised  up  for  this  very  crisis,  to  pro- 
tect the  school,  and  defend  the  friends  of  the  Gospel ;  and 
in  doing  this  work,  to  which  God  in  his  providence  called 
him,  he  was  as  firm  and  immovable,  as  if  he  had  been 
established  in  the  truth  for  years. 

Not  only  did  the  Has  Keuy  school  far  exceed  ours  in 
numbers,  but  even  in  its  religious  influence.  It  was 
formally  adopted  as  the  school  of  the  nation,  and  Mr. 
Sahakian  received  a  regular  appointment  from  the  Arme- 
nian Synod,  as  its  Principal.  He  had,  therefore,  more 
liberty  of  action,  and  could  give  religious  instruction 
officially,  and  of  course  with  less  danger  of  exciting  sus- 
picion, than  in  a  school  supported  by  foreigners.  He  de- 
voted an  hour  a  day  to  this  special  purpose,  in  a  select 
class  of  sixty  of  the  most  advanced  pupils  ;  besides  more 
general  instruction,  and  the  daily  good  influence  exerted 
by  himself  and  Der  Kevork. 

There  was  a  liberal  course  of  study  adopted,  and  the 
school  was  arranged,  throughout,  after  the  model  of  our 
own.  Lectures  were  given  in  the  natural  sciences,  the 
whole  of  our  philosophical  apparatus  having  been  pur- 


56  PERPLEXITY    OF    PRIESTS. 

chased  and  paid  for,  by  the  directors.  In  short,  this  new 
Institution  soon  became  deservedly  popular  throughout 
the  city,  and  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  amount  of 
encouragement  and  support,  the  mere  fact  of  its  existence 
gave  to  the  cause  of  evangelical  piety  in  the  country. 

There  was  now  much  more  boldness  on  the  part  of 
many,  in  endeavoring  to  spread  the  truth.  It  was  par- 
ticularly pleasing,  however,  to  see  that  the  triumph  of  our 
brethren  did  not  elate  them  ;  but  seemed  rather  to  lead 
to  a  more  humble  and  trustful  spirit,  and  a  closer  walk 
with  God.  Some  in  high  places  openly  avowed  their  be 
lief  in  ''  this  new  way."  Two  of  this  character  were 
found  in  the  very  Synod  itself.  Our  pious  priests  were 
active  in  doing  good.  DerKevork,  especially,  spent  much 
time  in  going  from  house  to  house,  reading  the  Scriptures 
to  the  people,  and  exhorting  them  to  obey  the  Grospel. 
The  light  of  true  evangelical  piety  seemed  to  be  kindled 
up  in  every  part  of  the  city.  In  almost  every  quarter, 
at  least  one  individual  could  be  found,  who  was  as  "  a 
Durning  and  a  shining  light,"  in  the  midst  of  surrounding 
darkness. 

Some  of  the  unenlightened  priests  were  greatly  per- 
plexed in  their  visits  among  their  people.  One  of  them 
called  at  a  house  where  the  wife  as  well  as  the  husband 
had  embraced  the  G-ospel.  Her  little  son  brought  out  a 
copy  of  the  New  Testament,  probably  by  his  mother's 
direction,  and  opened  to  various  places,  and  asked  such 
questions  as  perfectly  astonished  the  priest,  many  of 
which  he  could  not  answer.  He  managed  to  speedily 
change  the  subject  ;  but  the  woman  soon  came  in,  and 
with  an  expression  of  much  surprise,  exclaimed,  "  What ! 
are  you  already  tired  of  talking  about  the  Bible,  that  you 


OPPOSITION    SPREADING.  57 

have  so  soon  laid  it  aside  ?  Are  you  not  a  priest,  and 
can  you  find  anything  more  important  to  talk  about  ?" 
"  Now,"  said  she,  "  I  wish  to  ask  you  one  question.  Do  you 
suppose  that  when  our  Saviour  first  instituted  the  Lord's 
Supper,  he  wore  those  splendid  robes,  and  that  mitre  set 
with  diamonds,  and  carried  such  a  golden  staff  as  our 
bishops  do  at  mass  ?"  The  priest  related  this  story  him- 
self afterwards  to  a  brother  priest,  adding,  "  These  are 
what  I  call  new  notions,  and  Constantinople  is  full  of 
such  doctrine." 

The  spirit  of  opposition  that  had  been  awakened  in 
high  quarters  in  Constantinople,  soon  extended  itself  to 
Brusa.  Already,  as  we  have  seen,  fit  instruments  were 
prepared  in  that  place,  for  any  amount  of  hostility  to  the 
work  of  Christ  that  might  be  thought  expedient ;  and  the 
usual  stimulus  to  activity  on  the  part  of  the  enemy, 
namely,  progress  in  religion,  was  not  wanting.  The 
number  of  visitors  at  the  houses  of  the  missionaries  was 
increasing ;  and  two  young  teachers  in  the  Armenian 
public  school  exhibited  marks  of  special  interest  in  the 
subject  of  personal  religion.  They  were  among  the  first 
to  make  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Powers,  when  he  took 
up  his  residence  in  the  Armenian  quarter  of  the  city ;  and 
after  some  little  delay,  both  of  them  became  his  regular 
pupils  for  the  study  of  the  English  language,  as  well  as 
that  of  the  Bible.  One  of  these  young  men  had  the  sole 
charge  of  about  fifty  or  sixty  of  the  most  advanced 
scholars,  to  whom  he  gave  daily  instruction  from  the 
word  of  God.  As  he  himself  grew  in  spiritual  know- 
ledge, his  desire  was  increased  to  communicate  it  to  those 
entrusted  to  his  care.  Soon,  it  was  resolved  by  the  prin- 
cipal men  in  the  Armenian  community  at  Brusa,  that,  in 
3=^ 


58  FRIENDLY     VARTABED. 

view  of  the  exceeding  great  ignorance  of  the  common 
priests  generally,  a  class  of  boys  should  be  selected  and 
placed  under  the  instruction  of  Mr.  Serope.  for  that  was 
the  name  of  the  teacher  to  be  trained  for  the  priest's 
office  ;  and  accordingly,  eight  of  the  most  promising  lads, 
were  selected  and  set  apart  for  this  purpose.  Before  the 
end  of  the  year  1837,  both  of  these  teachers  gave  some 
evidence  of  a  change  of  heart.  Long  before  this,  however, 
some  of  the  priests  attempted  to  prevent  their  people  from 
frequenting  the  houses  of  the  missionaries.  One  in  par- 
ticular, was  very  active  in  going  about  and  charging  his 
flock  to  have  no  intercourse  with  the  foreigners  ;  and  a 
neighbor  of  Mr.  Powers,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street, 
was  ordered  to  keep  a  strict  watch  upon  Mr.  P.'s  door,  and 
report  who  came  and  went.  This  individual  proved  to  be 
not  very  faithful  to  his  charge.  He  was,  in  fact,  friendly 
to  the  missionaries,  and  instead  of  reporting  to  the  priest, 
he  communicated  to  some  of  Mr.  Powers'  visitors,  what 
had  been  said  to  him,  and  advised  them  as  a  friend,  for 
the  time  being,  to  come  but  seldom  and  that  privately. 

At  Trebizond,  an  attempt  was  made  to  gather  a  school, 
but  only  two  Armenian  children  could  be  procured. 
With  them  were  associated  a  very  few  Grreeks.  Not  an 
individual  was  found  at  this  time,  among  the  Armenians, 
who  showed  any  signs  of  a  new  spiritual  life  ;  and  yet, 
as  American  missionaries  were  there,  something  must  be 
done  by  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  to  counteract  their 
influence.  The  vartabed  of  the  place  received  a  letter 
from  his  Patriarch  at  Constantinople,  denouncing  the 
missionaries,  their  schools,  their  books,  and  everything 
pertaining  to  them ;  and  ordering  him  to  look  well  to  his 
flock,  lest  any  should  be  seduced.     The  vartabed  replied 


MISSIONARY    CONVENTION.  59 

to  the  Patriarch,  that  he  might  rest  easy  in  regard  to  the 
Armenians  of  Trebizond,  for  they  were  a  poor,  ignorant 
people,  not  at  all  given  to  curiosity,  nor  in  danger  of 
of  running  after  any  novelties.  This  representation 
was,  at  that  time,  too  true.  They  had  not  curiosity 
enough  to  lead  them  to  inquire  whether  their  religion 
were  true  or  false.  The  vartabed  himself  showed  great 
friendliness  to  the  missionaries  ;  and,  indeed,  it  was  from 
him  that  Mr.  Johnston  learned,  for  the  first  time,  that 
such  a  letter  had  been  received  from  the  Patriarch.  The 
number  of  Armenian  visitors  at  the  houses  of  the  mission- 
aries, afterwards  gradually  increased ;  so  that  one  result 
of  this  hostile  effort  from  Constantinople,  was,  that  curi- 
osity was  stimulated  into  existence,  and  some,  at  least, 
put  themselves  in  the  way  of  hearing  something  new, 
that  might  prove  of  infinite  value  to  them. 

It  is  worthy  of  record  in  this  place,  that  during  the 
month  of  September,  of  the  year  1837,  a  convention  of 
missionaries  was  held  in  Smyrna,  which  evidently  had  an 
important  influence  for  good,  both  on  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  those  present,  and  on  the  subsequent  plans  and 
labors  of  the  missionaries  in  the  Levant.  The  chief  ob- 
ject was,  to  ascertain,  by  prayerful  inquiry,  the  mistakes 
and  deficiencies  of  the  past,  both  in  regard  to  personal 
qualifications  for  the  work,  and  the  means  and  measures 
adopted  for  bringing  the  claims  of  the  gospel  in  contact 
with  the  hearts  of  the  people.  Recent  afflictive  dispen- 
sations in  the  mission,  had  produced  a  mellowed  tone  of 
Christian  feeling,  which  greatly  prepared  the  minds  of 
the  brethren  for  a  profitable  discussion  of  these  subjects. 
The  Lord  was  felt  to  be  indeed  present,  and  it  is  believed 
that  each  one  returned  to  the  toils  of  missionary  life, 


60  THE    PLAGUE. 

with  a  more  prayerful  and  confiding  spirit,  and  a  more 
fixed  purpose  of  heart,  to  make  the  salvation  of  the  soul 
the  immediate  and  all-absorbing  object  of  labor,  and  the 
preaching  of  "  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified,"  the 
grand  means. 

Mr.  Adger  was  enabled  to  commence  an  expository 
service  in  Smyrna,  in  the  Armenian  language,  at  which 
some  five  or  six  were  usually  present.  His  translator,  Mr. 
Sarkis,  from  Constantinople,  had  increasing  intercourse 
with  the  people  ;  and  Armenian  mothers  began  to  be  elo- 
quent in  their  lamentations  over  the  neglected  education 
of  their  daughters.  Up  to  the  first  of  January,  1838, 
there  were  printed,  at  the  Smyrna  press,  about  two  and  a 
half  million  pages  in  the  Armenian  language.  A  pocket 
edition  of  the  New  Testament,  in  ancient  Armenian,  was 
completed  on  the  last  day  of  the  year  1837. 

The  plague,  that  scourge  of  Turkey,  was  permitted 
this  year  to  enter  the  family  of  the  author,  and  a  beloved 
wife  and  child  became  its  victims.  This  afflictive  dis- 
pensation called  forth  the  tenderest  expression  of  sympa- 
thy, from  the  native  brethren  and  other  friends  of  the 
missionaries  ;  and,  in  various  ways,  it  was  truly  a  sanc- 
tified, though  most  sorrowful  event.  This  terrible  disease, 
in  its  annual  visitations  to  the  capital,  and  other  parts  of 
the  Turkish  Empire,  has  proved  a  far  more  serious 
obstacle  to  missionary  labor,  than  can  well  be  imagined  at 
home.  The  season  of  the  plague  was  a  season  of  non- 
intercourse,  to  a  very  great  extent.  Schools  must  be 
closed ;  public  worship  suspended  ;  and  the  giving  and 
receiving  of  visits,  in  a  great  measure  interrupted.  This 
has  happened,  again  and  again,  at  all  our  stations.  Some- 
times, when  we  had  made  a  successful   and  promising 


v 


REMOVAL    OF    PICTURES.  61 

beginning  of  some  new  plan  of  usefulness,  this  dreadful 
scourge  would  come  down  upon  us  with  all  its  violence, 
and  suddenly  arrest  the  enterprise,  and  frustrate  all  our 
hopes.  And  in  such  a  country  as  Turkey,  when  a  school 
is  closed,  or  public  worship  suspended  for  several  months, 
more  ground  may  be  lost  than  can  be  gained  in  a  whole 
year.  What  abundant  cause  have  we  for  gratitude, 
therefore,  that  for  twelve  years  past,  we  have  been  living 
in  Turkey  exempt  from  the  plague  I  This  is  accounted 
for  by  the  fact,  that,  during  this  period,  the  system  of 
quarantines  has  been  in  vogue  ;  and  experiment  seems 
thus  to  have  established,  what  before  was  theory  with 
many — namely,  that  the  disease  never  originated  in  Con- 
stantinople, but  was  imported  chiefly  from  Egypt. 

As  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  gained  a  hold  on  the 
hearts  of  the  people,  superstitions  gave  way ;  and,  as 
error  became  eradicated  from  the  mind,  the  external 
symbols  of  that  error  were  naturally  removed  from  use 
and  from  sight.  The  progress  of  correct  religious  opinion 
was  evinced,  especially,  by  the  gradual  disappearance  of 
pictures  from  the  Armenian  churches.  In  one  instance, 
near  the  beginning  of  the  year  1838,  the  vartabed  and 
leading  men  in  the  large  village  of  Orta  Keuy,  on  the 
Bosphorus,  went  together  to  the  church,  and  carefully 
removed  every  picture,  except  the  altar  pieces,  which 
were  so  situated  that  they  could  not  be  approached  for 
worship.  In  the  apartment  assigned  to  the  females, 
where  pictures  are  considered  especially  necessary,  not  a 
solitary  one  was  left.  It  is  an  interesting  fact,  that  this 
is  the  very  village  in  which  the  rftissionaries  resided, 
when  they  first  began  to  get  access  to  the  Armenians. 

The   Patriarch    Stepan   was    apparently    well   convinced 
4 


62  DECLINE  OF  THE  HAS  KEVY    SCHOOL. 

that  the  superstitions  of  his  Church  must,  ere  long,  dis- 
appear before  the  light  of  the  truth.  He  remarked  to 
one  of  the  native  brethren,  that  many  of  the  observances 
in  their  Church  were  not  prescribed  by  the  gospel,  and 
that  probably  they  would  not  exist  ten  years  longer. 

The  reformation  was  daily  gaining  strength.  The  con- 
verted Armenians  were  never  more  active,  or  prayerful. 
They  delighted  in  the  communion  of  saints  ;  and  they 
also  sought  and  found  frequent  opportunities  for  religious 
conversation  with  their  fellow-countrymen,  who,  as  yet, 
had  not  felt  the  power  of  the  gospel.  Mr.  Sahakian  con- 
tinued his  connection  with  the  High  School  at  Has  Keuy, 
and  his  opportunities  for  usefulness  were  many  and  great. 
The  less  advanced  scholars  in  this  school  were  taught  ac- 
cording to  the  Lancasterian  system,  and  this  was  now 
getting  into  favor  with  the  Armenians  ;  so  that  other 
schools,  on  the  same  plan,  were  established  in  different 
quarters  of  the  city  and  suburbs.  Application  was 
always  made  to  us  for  assistance  in  getting  these  schools 
in  operation,  and  they  were  quite  ready  to  use  the  cards 
we  had  prepared  and  printed,  for  the  purpose. 

After  the  middle  of  the  year  1838,  it  became  evident 
that  the  great  school  at  Has  Keuy  must  go  down.  Its 
illustrious  patron  had  hitherto  sustained  it  alone.  This 
he  would  cheerfully  have  continued  to  do,  but  among 
neither  the  primates,  nor  the  clergy  of  his  nation,  did  he 
find  that  encouragement  and  support,  to  which  he  felt 
justly  entitled  ;  and  not  only  so,  but,  by  various  signifi- 
cant signs,  he  was  given  to  understand  that  there  was  a 
growing  dissatisfaction  with  the  school,  as  then  organ- 
ized, among  the  leading  men  in  the  Armenian  commu- 
nity ;   partly  owing  X to  jealousy,  and   partly  to  religious 


ORIGIN    OF    THE    WORK    IN    NICOMEDIA.  63 

zeal,  directed  against  Mr.  Sahakian,  its  principal.  This 
determined  him  to  abandon  the  undertaking  altogether ; 
and  before  the  close  of  the  year  most  of  the  teachers  were 
dismissed,  and  the  school  reduced  to  its  former  footing. 
Many  of  the  people  w^ere  strongly  in  favor  of  its  continu- 
ance, and  particularly  the  leading  men  of  the  village 
where  it  was  located  ;  and  they  sent  a  delegation  to  the 
Patriarch,  to  implore  his  aid,  to  prevent  the  approaching 
disaster.  All  they  obtained  from  him  was — fair  promises 
that  w^ere  never  fulfilled. 

Mr.  Sahakian,  being  thrown  out  of  employment,  was 
very  gladly  taken  up  by  the  mission.  The  necessity  had 
been  for  some  time  becoming  more  and  more  obvious,  of 
having  a  man  to  superintend  the  distribution  of  our 
books,  which  were  rapidly  increasing  in  number.  To 
this  post  Mr.  Sahakian  was  appointed,  with  the  confident 
expectation  that  it  would  prove  a  station  of  great  useful- 
ness. 

The  kingdom  of  Christ  now  began  to  make  evident 
inroads  on  the  kingdom  of  Satan,  in  the  interior  of  the 
country.  We  had  heard,  early  in  the  year  1837,  with 
the  highest  gratification,  that  two  Armenian  priests,  in 
Nicomedia,  who  had  never  seen  a  missionary,  had  been 
converted  to  the  truth.  One  of  these  individuals  after- 
wards came  to  Constantinople,  and  visited  the  mission- 
aries. His  whole  appearance  was  that  of  a  man  of  a 
most  devout  and  humble  spirit ;  and,  from  his  conversa- 
tion, it  was  evident  that  he  had  inward  experience  of  tho 
grace  of  Grod.  The  doctrine  of  salvation,  by  grace  alone, 
was  quite  familiar  and  very  precious  to  him  ;  and  he 
readily  discriminated  between  a  living  and  a  dead  faith. 
Nothing  could  be  more  plain,  than  that  this  individual 


64  ORIGIN    OF    THE    WORK    IN    NICOMEDIA. 

and  his  brother  priest,  had  been  led,  by  a  way  they 
knew  not,  to  embrace  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ.  The 
Holy  Spirit  was  their  teacher  and  guide  ;  and,  while  sur- 
rounded by  the  deepest  moral  darkness,  and  having  no 
help  from  any  living  preacher's  voice,  they  were  brought 
to  rejoice  in  the  light  of  the  glorious  Grospel  of  Christ. 
The  circumstances  of  their  conversion  were  peculiar.  In 
1832,  Mr.  Goodell  made  a  tour  from  Constantinople  to 
Brusa,  which  carried  him  through  Nicomedia.  Here  he 
left,  with  an  old  priest,  a  copy  of  the  Armeno-Turkish 
New  Testament,  and  gave,  to  some  Armenian  boys,  seve- 
ral tracts  in  the  same  language.  One  of  these  tracts — a 
translation  of  the  Dairyman's  Daughter — fell  into  the 
hands  of  another  priest,  whom  Mr.  Groodell  did  not  see. 
The  perusal  of  it  was  the  means  of  awakening  his  mind 
to  serious  inquiry,  in  regard  to  his  own  religious  condition. 
"If  this  is  true  religion,"  said  he  to  himself,  "then,  as 
yet,  I  have  no  religion."  He  now  began  in  good  earnest, 
to  study  the  Word  of  Grod  ;  and  the  farther  he  advanced, 
the  more  he  was  satisfied  that  all  his  former  grounds  of 
hope  were  delusive,  and  that  he  needed  an  entire  renova- 
tion of  character,  in  order  to  be  saved.  He  soon  ven- 
tured to  intimate  to  a  brother  priest,  in  the  same  Church, 
who  was  ordained  with  him,  and  had  always  been  a 
confidential  friend,  the  change  his  mind  had  undergone. 
At  first  he  was  repulsed.  The  Church  must  be  right, 
and  any  deviation  from  her  teachings  must  be  heresy. 
His  companion,  however,  could  not  refuse  to  read  the 
Bible,  when  urged  to  do  so ;  and  it  was  not  long  before 
the  truth  flashed  upon  his  mind  also,  with  the  clearness 
of  the  noon-day  sun.  Their  united  prayers  and  efforts 
were  now  directed  to  the  enlightenment  and  conversion 


ORIGIN    OF    THE    WORK    IN    NICOMEDIA.  65 

of  their  flock.  Such,  however,  was  the  degree  of  igno- 
rance and  prejudice  prevailing,  that  the  utmost  caution 
was  necessary.  The  spirit  of  inquiry  began  to  spread 
among  the  people.  Hitherto,  no  missionary  had  been 
there  since  the  work  commenced.  In  the  spring  of  1838, 
the  author  visited  the  place.  It  is  situated  at  the  head  of 
a  gulf,  bearing  the  same  name  with  the  town  stretching 
out  from  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  sea  of  Marmora ; 
and  is  about  fifty  miles  due  east  from  the  city  of  Con- 
stantinople. It  was  formerly  the  capital  of  Bythinia,  and 
was  also  the  residence  of  Constantino,  and  several  of  his 
successors,  at  least  during  a  part  of  each  year.  Here 
Diocletian  also  held  his  court,  when  he  issued  his  first 
edicts  against  the  Christians,  and  here  the  horrid  work  of 
persecution  first  began.  I  found  sixteen  individuals  who 
appeared  to  be  truly  converted  men.  They  conversed  on 
the  great  truths  of  the  gospel,  with  a  degree  of  serious- 
ness, earnestness,  and  intelligence,  which  was  truly  sur- 
prising. They  had  evidently  taken  the  Scriptures  as 
their  only  and  all-suffieient  guide,  and  the  religious 
knowledge  they  had  already  acquired,  clearly  evinced 
that  they  had  had  the  Holy  Spirit  for  their  teacher.  The 
great  doctrine  of  justification  by  grace,  through  faith 
alone,  was  apprehended  by  them  with  great  clearness, 
and  formed  the  only  foundation  of  their  hopes.  It  is  im- 
possible to  describe  the  cordiality  of  manner  and  the 
gladness  of  heart  with  which  they  greeted  a  missionary 
of  the  cross  for  the  first  time.  They  seemed  to  hang 
upon  my  lips,  like  men  who  were  hungering  for  the 
bread  of  life.  They  said  to  me,  ''  We  endeavor  to  take 
the  Word  of  Grod  for  our  guide,  but  we  are  sensible  that 
in  many  things  we  are  wanting.     We  desire  you  to  talk 


66  TWO    CONVERTED    PRIESTS. 

with  US,  and  see  wherein  we  are  deficient,  and  instruct  us 
in  the  right  ways  of  the  Lord." 

These  individuals,  in  general,  compared  with  their 
countrymen  in  the  same  place,  might  justly  be  called  in- 
telligent men.  Thsy  were  employed  in  various  branches 
of  business,  all  of  them  respectable,  and  some  of  them  in 
very  easy  circumstances.  One  of  them  appeared  to  be 
over  fifty  years  of  age,  and  was  very  sober  and  venerable 
in  his  appearance,  and  quite  intelligent.  The  two 
priests,  Der  Yertanes,  and  Der  Harutun,  by  name,  re- 
moved, of  their  own  accord,  to  Constantinople  ;  and  by  a 
singular  providence,  they  were  then  placed  together,  as 
the  only  priests  in  a  village  church  on  the  Bosphorus. 
Here  they  could  act  with  a  good  degree  of  independence, 
and  many  opportunities  of  doing  good  were  presented. 
During  the  summer  of  1838,  the  Patriarch  Stepan,  being 
an  old  acquaintance,  spent  several  weeks  with  them ; 
and  they  had  very  full  conversations  together  on  reli- 
gious subjects,  the  Patriarch  generally  assenting  to  their 
views. 

Both  at  Brusa  and  Trebizond  every  possible  obstacle 
was  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  progress  of  the  truth  ;  and 
yet  the  Word  of  Grod  could  not  be  bound.  In  both  places 
there  was  increasing  friendliness  on  the  part  of  the 
people,  and  more  extended  intercourse,  and,  what  is  still 
better,  the  special  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  mani- 
fest. Among  those  whose  minds  seemed  to  be  especially 
opened  to  religious  impressions  at  Trebizond,  were  the 
vartabed  himself,  or  acting  bishop,  who  has  been  alluded 
to,  and  also  a  priest  of  the  Church.  At  Brusa,  the  two 
teachers,  Mr.  Serope,  and  Mr.  Hohannes,  seemed  to  be 
growing  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  Christ.     An 


DIVINE    INFLUENCES    AT    BRUSA    AND    TREBIZOND.  67 

influential  and  distinguished  man  became  a  serious  inquirer 
for  the  way  of  salvation,  and  opposition,  thus  far,  was 
overruled  for  good.  In  October,  1838,  Mr.  Schneider 
began  a  regular  preaching  service  at  his  own  house,  every 
Sabbath,  in  the  Turkish  language,  for  the  benefit  of  both 
Armenians  and  Grreeks. 

The  Rev.  E.  Higgs  joined  the  station  at  Smyrna,  with 
his  family,  on  the  2d  of  November,  1838. 


Wt     '^ 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Origin  and  Nature  of  Armenian  Patriarchal  Power — Power  of  the  Pri- 
mates— The  Sultan  Mahmud  enlisted  as  a  Persecutor — Missionaries 
and  native  helpers  calumniated — New  Patriarch — Organized  Persecution 
— The  Armenian  Patriarchal  Power  always  persecuting — Two  Brethren 
exiled — Interesting  Scene  at  Nicomedia — Cruelties  of  a  Turkish  Police- 
man— Reception  at  Kaisery — Fears  at  the  Capital — Books  prohibited — 
Banishment  of  a  Pious  Priest— Reign  of  Terror — Patriarch's  Bull — 
Combination  of  Persecutors — Wonderful  Providences — Death  of  Mah- 
mfld  II. — Persecutors  Relenting — Sultan's  Physician — Persecution  at 
Brusa — Do.  at  Trebizond — 'New  Station  at  Erzrum — Arrival  of  Mr. 
Hamlin. 

The  enemies  of  the  reform  were  ever  watchful  for  op- 
portunities to  carry  into  effect  their  hostile  purposes. 
They  had  been  baffled  by  that  providential  interposition 
which  brought  the  High  School  at  Has  Keuy  into  exist- 
ence ;  but,  though  they  were  disappointed,  they  were  not 
discouraged.  And  when  that  school  was  closed,  and  its 
principal  was  once  more  placed  within  their  grasp,  they 
resolved  to  lose  no  time  in  seizing  upon  their  prey.  It 
must  be  regarded  as  a  circumstance  strongly  favoring  the 
reformation  among  the  Armenians,  that  there  exists  in 
that  community,  no  great  concentration  of  power,  as  in 
the  Church  of  Rome.  The  real  visible  head  of  the  Arme- 
nian Church,  is  the  Katolikos,  (called   by  forcig-i   uationi? 


ORIGIN    OF     ARMENIAN     PATRIARCHAL    POWER.  69 

Patriarch),  at  Echmiadzin.  But,  as  Echmiadzin  has 
been,  for  many  years,  within  the  Russian  territories,  the 
Armenians  of  Turkey,  partly  through  fear,  but  more,  it  is 
believed,  from  choice,  have  not  acknowledged  their  alle- 
giance to  him.  The  Patriarch  of  Constantinople  is,  eccle- 
siastically considered,  only  a  common  bishop,  having 
properly  no  spiritual  authority  above  that  of  any  other 
bishop  in  the  land.  The  office  of  Patriarch  was  instituted 
by  the  Turkish  government,  for  its  own  purposes,  and  is, 
therefore,  civil  and  not  ecclesiastical.  When  Mohammed 
II.  took  possession  of  the  city  of  Constantinople,  he  found 
there  a  Grreek  Patriarch,  having  spiritual  jurisdiction  over 
the  whole  Greek  Church ;  and  sagaciously  conceiving 
that  the  Greeks  could  be  better  governed  through  their 
own  ecclesiastical  head,  than  directly  by  their  conquerors, 
he  made  the  Patriarch  responsible  for  the  good  conduct 
of  his  people,  clothing  him  at  the  same  with  such  civil 
powers  as  were  necessary  to  enable  him  to  maintain  his 
authority.  And  this,  no  doubt,  suggested  the  thought 
of  governing  each  of  the  other  great  classes  of  inhabitants 
in  a  similar  way.  There  being,  however,  no  Armenian 
Patriarch  in  Constantinople,  Mohammed  removed  the 
Bishop  of  Briisa  thither,  A.D.,  1453,  and  constituted  him 
Patriarch  of  all  the  Armenians  in  Turkey,  with  civil 
powers  corresponding  to  those  which  had  already  been 
conferred  on  the  Greek  dignitary.  The  Armenian  Pa- 
triarchate of  Jerusalem,  which  has  a  very  limited  juris- 
iiction,  dates  back  to  A.D.,  1311,  and  owed  its  existence 
)  the  Sultan  of  Egypt.  The  nomination  to  the  office  of 
Patriarch  is  made  by  the  primates  of  the  nation,  but  the 
appointment  comes   from   the   Sultan.      His  powers  are 

defined  by  an  imperial  firman^  and  he  ranks,  civilly,  with 

4* 


70  POWER    OF    THE    PRIMATES. 

the  great  pashas  of  the  empire.  He  has  a  prison  within 
his  own  precincts,  for  the  punishment  of  offenders,  and 
until  within  a  few  years  past,  a  note  from  him  to  the 
Porte,  was  quite  sufficient,  in  most  cases,  to  procure  the 
banishment  of  any  individual,  whether  an  ecclesiastic  or 
a  layman,  mere  word  of  the  Patriarch  being  taken  as 
sufficient  to  establish  the  guilt  of  the  accused.  And  if, 
owing  to  the  rank  or  influence  of  the  individual,  or  any 
other  circumstances,  any  difficulty  was  apprehended  in 
procuring  the  necessary  order  from  the  government,  a 
bribe  would  generally  settle  all  doubt  on  the  subject.  In 
this  way,  it  will  be  seen,  the  Patriarch  could,  with  the 
greatest  ease,  use  the  power  of  the  Turkish  government 
to  vent  a  private  pique  upon  an  individual,  or  visit  a  sus- 
pected heretic  with  persecution.  And  numerous  in- 
stances are  on  record,  in  which  this  power  has  been 
exercised  with  the  greatest  injustice  and  cruelty. 

But,  in  actual  practice,  the  power  of  the  Patriarchs  is 
very  much  modified  by  the  power  of  the  primates  of  the 
community,  who  are  chiefly  bankers.  As  the  Patriarchs 
are,  in  an  important  sense,  the  creatures  of  the  primates, 
rarely  is  any  important  step  taken  without  the  sanction  of 
the  latter.  And  since  there  are  always  rival  candidates  for 
the  Patriarchal  office,  each  candidate  being  supported  by 
his  own  friends  among  the  primates,  it  is  obvious  that  con- 
cealed action  on  any  point  must  be  difficult,  and  a  strong 
and  permanent  centralization  of  power  like  that  of  Rome, 
is  not  at  all  practicable.  For  the  most  part,  the  Pa- 
triarchs have  been  the  tools  of  those,  who,  for  the  time 
being,  have  had  the  greatest  influence  in  the  community  ; 
and  those  who  have  the  predominant  influence  are  those, 
who  are  brought  into  the  closest  contact  with  the  impe- 


'.HE    SULTAN    MAHMUD    ENLISTED    AS    A    PERSECUTOR.     71 

rial  government.  Of  course,  as  parties  fluctuate,  or  other 
circumstances  change,  this  power  is  transferred  from  one 
combination  of  men  to  another,  and  thus  measures  in 
.process,  or  in  prospect,  are  constantly  liable  to  be  inter- 
fered with  and  frustrated.  Much  of  the  quiet  that  has 
been  enjoyed  by  the  missionaries,  and  their  native 
brethren  in  the  prosecution  of  their  evangelical  labors,  has 
been  owing  to  jealousies  and  party  feuds  among  the  spir- 
tual  and  temporal  leaders  of  the  Armenian  community. 

In  the  case  before  us,  by  a  series  of  intrigues,  commenced 
near  the  beginning  of  the  year  1839,  the  leading  bankers 
were  gradually  dispossessed  of  much  of^heir  former  power  ; 
and  almost  before  either  the  Patriarch  or  the  people  were 
aware  of  it,  three  or  four  men  from  the  artisan  classes, 
stood  before  the  nation  as  its  guides  and  dictators,  and 
especially  as  defenders  of  its  ancient  faith,  and  the  zeal- 
ous extirpators  of  heresy.  One  of  these  was  the  Sultan's 
chief  architect,  and  another  was  his  second.  Another 
was  superintendent  of  the  government  powder  works. 
The  first  two  were  employed  at  the  time,  in  erecting  the 
most  splendid  of  all  the  imperial  palaces ;  and  this 
brought  them  into  closer  contact  with  the  Sultan  than 
was  enjoyed  by  any  of  the  bankers.  Their  royal  master 
was  also  so  much  delighted  with  the  work  of  their  hands, 
that  he  seemed  ready,  for  the  moment,  to  grant  them  any 
request  they  might  make,  even  to  "  the  one  half  of  his 
kingdom."  The  expulsion  of  Protestantism  from  the  land 
was  an  object  that  lay  near  their  hearts  ;  and  they  now 
resolved  to  make  use  of  the  strong  arm  of  the  Sultan  to 
effect  it.  Accusations  were  presented  against  the  evan- 
gelical brethren,  though  the  precise  form  of  them  is  not 
known.     Report  said  that  the  Protestants  were  repre- 


72       MISSIONARIES    AND    NATIVE   HELPERS  CALUMNIATED 

senteil  as  being  rebellious  against  the  government  of  the 
Patriarch,  and  of  course  against  that  of  the  Sultan  himself. 
Under  the  ecclesiastico-civil  government  of  the  Patri- 
archs, the  one  necessarily  implied  the  other.  It  was  said 
also  that  alarming  inuendoes  were  thrown  out,  respecting 
the  political  bearings  of  Protestantism  in  Turkey,  and  the 
dangers  that  threatened  the  throne  itself  from  an  English 
party,  as  it  was  called,  being  permitted  to  take  root  and 
grow  in  the  country.  At  the  same  time,  a  book  in  the 
Turkish  language,  containing  an  attack  on  Mohamme- 
danism, was  sent  to  the  palace  by  some  evil-minded  person, 
and  the  American  missionaries  were  represented  as  being 
its  authors  ;  and  this  was  produced  as  sufficient  proof  that 
they,  and  the  Armenians  connected  with  them,  had  the 
design  of  attempting  to  convert  the  Mohammedans  to 
Protestantism  ;  although,  in  point  of  fact,  the  mission  had 
never  printed  a  book  of  any  sort  in  the  Turkish  character, 
nor  one  in  any  language  on  Mohammedanism.  Various 
other  reports  were  in  circulation,  some  of  which  were  as 
ridiculous  as  they  were  slanderous  ;  such  as  that  the  teach- 
ers of  the  mission  schools  taught  chemistry,  which  was 
Protestantism,  or  at  least  something  that  would  transform 
all  the  pupils  into  Protestants ;  that  Mr.  Sahakian  was  a 
sorcerer,  and  would  cut  a  round  piece  of  paper  and  it 
would  become  gold,  and  that  one  such  piece  was  given  to 
every  Armenian  that  became  a  Protestant,  and  being 
kept  in  his  pocket  he  could  use  from  it  as  long  as  he  lived, 
and  as  freely  as  he  liked,  and  yet  it  would  never  be  con- 
sumed ;  that  by  fixing  his  eyes  upon  a  man  he  obtained 
complete  mastery  over  him,  in  every  respect,  and  no  one 
had  power  to  break  the  charm,  even  though  absent  from 
his  enchanter  ;  and  that  the  missionaries  took  a  likeness 


ORGANIZED    PERSECUTION.  73 

of  every  one  that  went  over  to  them,  and  hung  it  up  in 
one  of  their  rooms  ;  and  if,  at  any  subsequent  period,  any 
one  of  these  should  apostatize,  the  missionary  would  send 
a  ball  through  his  picture  with  a  pistol,  and  after  that  the 
man  would  soon  die. 

Such  reports  as  these,  which  had  produced  among  the 
common  people  a  very  excited  state  of  feeling  against  the 
evangelical  brethren,  would  also  have  their  influence  in 
the  palace.  The  Sultan  was  easily  persuaded,  and  the 
architects  and  powder-maker  were  fully  authorized  to  call 
upon  the  civil  power,  to  aid  them  in  extirpating  this  dan- 
gerous heresy. 

But,  there  was  one  obstacle  which  must  be  got  out  of 
the  way.  The  reigning  Patriarch,  Stepan,  was  altoge- 
ther too  mild  a  man  for  their  purposes  ;  and,  moreover,  it 
was  reported  and  believed  that  his  sympathies  were  with 
the  evangelical  party.  For  some  unknown  reason,  they 
did  not  at  once  remove  him  from  office,  but  procured 
from  the  interior  of  the  country,  a  man  who  had  once 
been  Vicar  of  the  Patriarchate  of  Constantinople,  and 
who  was  notorious  for  his  bigotry  and  sternness  of  char- 
acter, to  be  associated  with  Stepan,  as  assistant  Patri- 
arch. Hagopos,  for  that  was  the  name  of  the  new-comer, 
soon  had  the  whole  power  virtually  put  into  his  hands, 
and  Stepan,  the  real  Patriarch,  sunk  to  a  mere  cypher. 
And  now  began  the  cruel  work  of  persecution  in  good 
earnest.  On  the  19th  of  February,  Mr.  Sahakian  was  ar- 
rested, and  thrown  into  the  Patriarch's  prison.  There 
was  not  even  the  form  of  an  examination,  nor  did  they 
condescend  to  inform  the  prisoner  what  were  the  charges 
alleged  against  him.  Everybody  knew,  however,  and  he 
knew,  without  being  told,  that  his  only  crime  was,  that 
4 


74        THE    PATRIARCHAL    POWER    ALWAYS    PERSECUTING. 

he  chose  to  follow  the  Bible,  rather  than  the  Church.  H« 
was  a  mild,  amiable,  inoflensive  man  ;  of  unblemished 
character,  and  against  whom,  as  a  subject  and  a  citizen, 
not  the  slightest  imputation  could  be  brought.  And  yet, 
while  the  same  so  called  Christian  Patriarchate  would 
use  all  possible  means  to  protect  felons  of  every  descrip- 
tion, who  belonged  to  the  Armenian  community,  even  to 
the  murderer  himself,  from  the  regular  action  of  the 
Turkish  law,  it  could  rudely  seize  an  innocent  man,  and 
deliver  him  over  to  the  civil  authorities,  to  be  punished 
for  daring  to  think  and  act  for  himself,  in  matters  pertain- 
ing only  to  his  own  soul  and  Grod  ! 

The  Armenian  Patriarchal  power  at  Constantinople 
has  always  been  a  persecuting  power,  but  more  especially 
within  the  last  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  In  the  year 
1700,  the  Patriarch  Ephraim,  issued  the  most  stringent 
orders  to  all  his  clergy,  throughout  the  empire,  to  cause 
to  be  seized  and  imprisoned,  all  whom  they  even  sus- 
pected of  being  favorably  inclined  to  the  decisions  of  the 
Council  of  Calcedon,  which  implied  that  they  were  also 
favorable  to  Rome  ;  and,  by  the  influence  of  his  money, 
he  procured  a  similar  order  from  the  Sultan  himself  to  all 
the  civil  authorities  of  the  land.  Hundreds  were  impri- 
soned and  fined,  and  many  were  cruelly  tortured  by  the 
Janissaries,  merely  for  their  religious  opinions.  The 
same  thing  was  repeated  by  Avedis,  A.D.  1705,  and 
Sahag,  A.D.  1708,  and  Ilohannes,  A.D.  1714,  and  many  of 
their  successors.  In  some  of  these  persecutions,  there 
was  much  blood  shed,  the  money  of  the  Patriarch  causing 
many  to  perish  at  the  hands  of  the  public  executioner. 
And  who  does  not  know  of  the  cruelty  practiced  upon  the 
Papal  Armenians,  so  lately  as  the  year  1828,  when  about 


TWO    BRETHREN    EXILED.  75 

10,000  of  them  were  stripped  of  their  property,  driven 
from  their  homes,  and  sentenced  to  perpetual  banish- 
ment, at  the  instigation  of  Garabed,  the  Armenian 
Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  merely  because  of  their  ad- 
herence to  the  Church  of  Rome !  In  the  present 
instance,  therefore,  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  of  the 
Church  were  only  acting  out  the  true  spirit  of  the  Estab- 
lishment. Everybody  expected  it,  sooner  or  later ;  and 
many  wondered  that  the  blow  had  been  so  long  delayed. 
On  the  same  day  with  Mr.  Sahakian's  imprisonment, 
another  teacher,  Mr.  Boghos  Fizika,  was  also  arrested  and 
put  into  the  same  prison.  Four  days  afterwards,  these 
two  individuals  were  put  under  charge  of  a  Turkish 
police  officer,  who  was  armed  with  pistols  and  sword,  and, 
without  the  least  show  of  trial,  or  expressed  accusation, 
they  were  sent  into  banishment  by  an  imperial  firman. 
The  place  of  their  exile  was  a  monastery  near  Kaisery, 
(the  ancient  Csesarea  ad  Argoeum),  about  400  miles  east 
of  Constantinople.  The  Patriarch  Stepan  took  leave  of 
them  with  tears.  He  did  not  participate  in  the  act  of 
his  compeers,  and  knew  well  its  deep  injustice.  The 
police  officer,  a  Turk,  stopped  at  his  mother's  house  in 
Scutary,  and  sent  back  word  that  Mr.  Fizika  was  too 
feeble  to  bear  the  fatigues  of  the  journey.  He  was  an 
invalid,  and  the  whole  distance  must  be  performed  on 
horseback,  over  a  rugged  country,  with  almost  no  com- 
forts on  the  road,  and  this  at  the  very  worst  season  of  the 
year.  The  heart  of  a  persecutor,  however,  is  cruel  and 
relentless.  The  most  positive  orders  were  returned  to 
carry  him  to  Kaisery,  either  alive  or  dead.  The  mother 
of  the  policeman,  who  was  a  Turkish  woman,  wept  at 
their  hard  treatment,  and  remarked  that  *'  the  Armc- 


76  CRUELTY    OF    A    POLICEMAN. 

nian  rulers  must  be  very  bad  people  to  exile  such  good 
men." 

Nicomedia  lay  on  their  way  ;  and  as  soon  as  their  arrival 
there  was  known,  the  pious  brethren  hastened  in  a  body 
to  the  post  house,  and  there  they  had  a  precious  season  of 
prayer,  which  gave  great  comfort  to  the  exiles.  Here  the 
chief  primate  of  the  Armenians,  being  solemnly  appealed 
to  by  Mr.  Fizika,  detained  the  guard,  at  his  own  risk  and 
expense,  for  a  few  days,  and  wrote  to  Constantinople  for 
permission  for  Mr.  F.  to  remain  in  Nicomedia,  on  account 
of  his  feebleness.  They  were  lodged  in  the  precincts  of 
the  church,  VN^here  the  evangelical  brethren  had  free  ac- 
cess to  them,  and  every  evening  was  spent  in  Christian 
intercourse  and  worship.  The  health  of  the  invalid  here 
rapidly  recruited,  however,  so  that  they  started  on  their 
way  before  an  answer  was  received  from  Constantinople, 
which  at  this  time  was  a  favorable  one,  owing  to  the  in- 
fluence  of  the  Nicomedian  primate.  The  policeman,  seeing 
in  Nicomedia,  that  his  prisoners  were  not  destitute  of 
friends,  after  they  had  got  well  on  their  way,  resorted  to 
the  usual  tricks  of  his  trade,  in  order  to  extort  money. 
This  was  done  by  practising  cruelties  upon  them,  on  pre- 
tense that  he  was  commanded  so  to  do,  but  really  to 
make  them  pay  well  for  exemption.  He  tied  the  feet  of 
Mr.  Sahakian  together  under  his  horse,  as  he  was  riding 
along,  and  then  suspended  from  them  a  heavy  stone,  pro- 
ducing, in  a  short  time,  the  most  exquisite  suffering.  To 
save  himself  from  this  cruelty  Mr.  S.  was  compelled  to 
draw  upon  his  father  for  two  thousand  piastres  (nearly 
$100)  as  a  present  to  the  policeman.  The  Armenian 
bishop  of  Angora,  being  an  old  friend  of  the  family,  cashed 
the  bill ;  and  thus  our  brother  was  released  from  his  tor- 


PEARS    AT    THE    CAPITAL.  77 

ture.  Opportunities  were  not  wanting  on  the  way,  to 
preach  the  G-ospel  of  Christ ;  and  on  the  arrival  of  the 
exiles  at  Kaisery,  many  of  the  Armenians  were  very 
curious  to  know  for  what  crime  they  had  been  banished. 
And  when  Mr.  S.  informed  them  that  it  was  merely  be- 
cause they  received  the  Bible  as  the  only  infallible  guide 
in  religious  matters,  they  replied  that  the  Patriarch  might 
as  well  banish  them  all,  for  they  were  all  of  the  same 
opinion. 

The  greatest  efforts  were  now  made  at  the  capital  to 
frighten  the  brethren  into  submission.  It  was  reported 
that  the  Patriarch  had  a  list  of  five  hundred  persons  sus- 
pected of  heresy,  among  whom  were  bishops,  priests,  and 
bankers  ;  and  that  several  were  to  be  banished  immedi- 
ately. The  names  even  were  given  of  different  individu- 
als, of  whom  the  Patriarch's  beadles  were  already  said  to 
be  in  pursuit.  Very  few  dared  to  visit  the  missionaries, 
and  those  only  under  cover  of  the  darkness.  On  the  3d 
of  March  a  Patriarchal  bull  was  issued  by  Hagopos, 
adjunct  Patriarch,  forbidding  the  reading  of  all  books 
printed  or  circulated  by  the  missionaries ;  and  all  who 
had  such  books  in  their  possession,  were  required  to  de- 
liver them,  without  delay,  to  their  bishop  or  confessor. 
The  brethren,  though  appalled  by  such  violent  proceed- 
ings, still  exhibited  great  constancy  ;  and  seemed  ready 
to  suffer  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  their  goods,  and  if  need 
be,  imprisonment,  banishment,  and  the  bastinado,  for 
their  Master's  sake. 

On  the  14th  of  March,  Der  Kevork,  the  pious  priest  of 
Has  Keuy,  was  arrested  and  thrown  into  prison.  Eight 
days  after,  the  Patriarch  Stepan  was  deposed  from  office, 
and  permitted  to  retire  to  his  convent  at  Armash  near 


78  BANISHMENT    OF    A    PIOUS    PRIEST. 

Nicoraedia;  and  on  the  following  day,  his  assistant 
Hagopos,  was  installed  in  his  place.  During  the  same 
week,  the  Greek  Patriarch  issued  a  bull,  excommunica- 
ting all  who  should  buy,  sell,  or  read  the  books  of  the 
Lutherans  or  Calvinists,  as  the  missionaries  were  called ; 
and  an  imperial  firman  was  also  published,  requiring  all 
the  Patriarchs  to  look  well  to  their  flocks,  and  guard  them 
against  foreign  influence  and  infidelity.  In  short,  the 
reign  of  terror  had  begun,  and  no  means  were  to  be  left 
untried  to  extirpate  Protestantism  from  the  land.  It  was 
now  quite  evident  that  the  Sultan  himself  was  an  inter- 
ested party  in  these  transactions.  Th©  ansv/er  given  to 
an  application  from  the  most  respectable  Armenians  of 
Has  Keuy,  for  the  release  of  Der  Kevork,  showed  the  spirit 
of  the  times.  They  were  told  to  "  stay  at  home,  and  mind 
their  own  business."  After  lying  in  prison  for  more  than 
a  month,  he  was  banished  into  the  interior  ;  and  two 
vartabeds,  who  had  presided  over  dioceses  as  bishops,  one 
more  teacher,  and  several  other  persons  were  sent  into 
exile  about  the  same  time.  As  there  was  no  examina- 
tion of  any  case,  some,  who  were  made  the  victims  of  this 
cruel  fanaticism,  had  never  in  any  way  been  associated 
with  the  evangelical  men,  but  were  made  to  participate 
in  their  punishment  by  a  mere  mistake.  It  was  supposed 
that  in  one  or  two  instances,  individuals  who  acted  with 
the  persecuting  party,  seeing  the  summary  manner  in 
which  every  one,  to  whom  even  a  suspicion  of  heresy  was 
attached,  was  punished,  took  advantage  of  the  times,  and 
to  gratify  a  long-cherished  purpose  of  revenge,  procured 
the  punishmxcnt  of  personal  enemies,  who  were  the  far- 
thest possible  removed  from  Protestantism. 

On  the  28th  of  April,  the  Patriarch  issued  a  new  bull, 


patriarch's  bull.  79 

more  violent  than  the  former,  threatening  terrible  ana- 
themas, in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
against  all  who  should  be  found  having  any  intercourse 
with  the  missionaries,  or  reading  their  books ;  and  also 
against  all  who  neglected  to  inform,  when  made  acquaint- 
ed with  offenders.  Within  two  or  three  days,  a  rich 
banker,  who  had  been  for  years  on  friendly  terms  with 
the  missionaries,  and  who  was  especially  the  patron  of  Mr 
Boghos  Fizika,  was  arrested  and  imprisoned  in  the  hos- 
pital, as  an  insane  person  :  this  is  a  method  of  persecu- 
tion not  unfrequently  resorted  to  in  this  country.  The 
banker  was  released  after  about  a  week's  confinement,  on 
paying  a  large  sum  towards  the  college  at  Scutary,  to 
atone  for  the  mischief  he  had  done  by  his  insanity  ! 

The  list  of  suspected  persons  had  now  swelled  to  a  very 
large  number ;  and  a  strong  effort  was  being  made  to  pro- 
cure the  expulsion  of  the  missionaries,  themselves,  from 
the  country.  Multitudes  of  persons  of  diverse  characters, 
were  active,  from  diverse  motives,  in  keeping  alive  the 
spirit  of  fanaticism  One  was  a  renegade  Jew,  who  had 
been  baptized  by  an  English  missionary  many  years  be- 
fore, and  had,  for  some  years  afterwards,  been  on  terms  of 
some  intimacy  with  different  missionaries  ;  but  who  was 
now  an  avowed  infidel.  He  seemed  to  be  aided  by  the 
Evil  One,  in  inventing  all  sorts  of  slanders  against  Pro- 
testants and  Protestantism ;  and  with  these  he  powerfully 
stimulated  the  persecution.  Another  was  an  infidel 
teacher,  whom  we  had  once  disappointed  in  the  hope  of  em- 
ployment, and  who  never  afterwards  forgave  us.  He  was  a 
man  of  great  rudeness  of  manner,  and  bitterness  of  spirit, 
and  became  a  fit  associate  for  the  apostate  Jew.  Numer- 
ous were  the  subalterns  who  were  found  ready  to  act 


80  WONDERFUL    PROVIDENCES. 

under  these  leaders.  It  was  a  day  of  rebuke  and  blas- 
phemy. The  enemies  of  the  truth  seemed  to  have  every- 
thing in  their  own  way ;  and  strong  was  their  confidence 
that  they  were  about  to  succeed  in  their  purpose  of  de- 
livering the  land  from  the  plague  of  Protestantism,  The 
words  of  the  prophet  (Isa.  lix.  14,  15)  contain  a  most  ac- 
curate and  graphic  description  of  the  actual  state  of 
things  in  Constantinople  at  this  time.  "  Judgment  is 
turned  away  backward,  and  justice  standeth  afar  off:  for 
truth  is  fallen  in  the  street,  and  equity  cannot  enter. 
Yea,  truth  faileth ;  and  he  that  departeth  from  evil 
maketh  himself  a  prey ^'' 

Our  native  brethren  were  at  their  wits'  end,  and  even 
the  missionaries  could  not  see  how  G-od  was  going  to  de- 
liver his  people.  Providence  solved  the  problem,  how- 
ever, with  the  greatest  imaginable  ease.  The  persecuting 
powers  were  suddenly  thrown  into  the  deepest  consterna- 
tion, by  a  demand  from  the  Sultan  to  all  the  Patriarchs, 
that  each  should  furnish  him  with  several  thousand  men, 
10  recruit  his  broken  army,  and  enable  him  to  prosecute 
his  war  with  Mohammed  Ali  of  Egypt.  Though  an  unpre- 
cedented demand,  it  must  be  promptly  obeyed.  Public  at- 
tention was  now  entirely  absorbed  in  this  subject,  and  the 
doomed  Protestants  were  for  the  moment  forgotten.  The 
army  was  raised,  and  marched  to  the  field.  It  was 
estimated  to  consist  of  80,000  men ;  and  on  the  plains  of 
Nezib,  near  Aleppo,  it  encountered  an  Egyptian  force  of 
about  the  same  number.  The  battle  was  fought  on  the 
24th  of  June,  1839,  and  the  Turkish  troops  were  utterly 
defeated,  and  scattered  in  all  directions.  Tidings  of  this 
disaster,  however,  never  reached  the  ears  of  Sultan 
Mahmud.     He  died  in  his  own  palace,  on  the  Bosphorus, 


PERSECUTORS  RELENTING,  81 

on  the  first  day  of  July.  His  son,  Abdul  Medjid,  was 
girded  with  the  imperial  sword,  on  the  11th  ;  and  a  few 
days  after,  the  news  reached  the  capital,  that  the 
Capudan  Pasha  had  treacherously  surrendered  up  the 
whole  Turkish  fleet  to  Mohammed  Ali.  Thus,  both  the 
army  and  navy  were  gone,  and  a  mere  boy  of  seventeen 
was  upon  the  throne,  in  the  place  of  the  great  Mahmud  ; 
and  the  entire  dissolution  of  the  empire  seemed  inevitable. 
Nothing  but  the  intervention  of  the  great  powers  of 
Europe  prevented  this  catastrophe. 

By  this  rapid  succession  of  remarkable  events,  Grod 
rebuked  the  persecutors  of  his  people,  and  effectually 
removed  from  them  the  power  of  carrying  into  effect  their 
unholy  designs.  Judgment  succeeded  judgment,  pro- 
ducing, at  least,  in  some  instances,  relentings  of  heart 
towards  the  innocent  victims  of  ecclesiastical  wrath.  A 
fire  broke  out  in  the  quarter  of  Pera,  which  consumed 
between  three  and  four  thousand  houses.  An  immense 
amount  of  property  was  destroyed,  besides  several  lives. 
Immediately  after  this  last  visitation,  or  about  the  middle 
of  August,  a  meeting  of  the  Armenian  Synod  was  called, 
to  take  into  consideration  the  case  of  the  exiles.  After 
much  violent  debating,  it  was  resolved  that  a  part  of 
them  should  be  recalled.  Mr.  Sahakian  was  to  be  left, 
however,  in  perpetual  banishment.  He  was  considered 
the  "  ringleader"  of  the  sect  called  "  Evangelicals,"  and 
his  return  to  the  capital  would  be  highly  dangerous.  All 
the  others  returned  to  their  homes  before  winter  set  in. 
Some  of  them  were  restored  to  their  former  stations.  One 
efTect  of  the  treatment  they  had  received,  was,  that  they 
were  rendered  much  more  bold  to  prea  h  the  Gospel. 
The  converted  brethren,  generally,  soon  ^ok  courage. 
4# 


82  SULTAN  S    PHYSICIAN. 

They  cautiously  resumed  their  intercourse  with  the  mis- 
sionaries, and  gradually  became  bolder  than  ever  in  their 
efforts  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  the  truth. 

In  the  meantime,  at  the  suggestion  of  others,  Mr. 
Sahakian  wrote  two  or  three  letters,  successively,  to  the 
Patriarch,  petitioning  for  his  own  release.  They  were 
couched  in  terms  of  great  respect,  but  as  they  contained 
no  confession  of  error,  and  no  promise  of  future  submis- 
sion, his  request  was  denied.  The  bishop  of  Kaisery  also 
wrote  to  the  Patriarch  in  his  behalf,  saying  that  he  had 
watched  Mr.  S.  very  closely,  and  had  '•  found  no  fault  in 
him  ;"  but  this  application  also  failed. 

Yery  providentially,  one  of  the  physicians  of  the  royal 
palace  at  this  time,  was  an  English  gentleman,  of  the  most 
humane  feelings  ;  and  he  interested  himself  in  attempt- 
ing to  procure  the  release  of  the  injured  man.  He  stated 
the  iniquitous  circumstances  of  the  case  to  one  of  the 
sisters  of  the  late  Sultan,  and  through  her,  on  November 
14th,  1839,  an  imperial  request^  for  the  restoration  of  the 
exile,  was  sent  to  the  Patriarch.  This  dignitary  now  had 
recourse  to  every  expedient  to  procure  the  reversal  of  the 
decree.  He  caused  all  the  foolish  stories  that  had  been 
circulated  about  Mr.  S.  being  a  magician,  and  a  danger- 
ous man  in  the  community,  to  be  repeated  in  the  ears  of 
the  Sultana.  And  when  he  was  satisfied  that  all  this  was 
without  avail,  he  labored  as  much  as  possible  to  delay 
the  execution  of  her  benevolent  wishes.  He  consented  to 
restore  the  exile,  but  he  must  first  procure  from  him 
pledges  in  regard  to  his  future  conduct.  And  when,  after 
all,  he  was  obliged  to  go  through  the  usual  form  of  asking 
from  the  Porte  an  order  for  the  release  of  Mr.  Sahakian, 
and  the  necessary  document  was  placed  in  his  hands,  ad- 


PERSECUTION    AT    BRTTSA.  83 

dressed  to  the  Governor  of  Kaisery,  by  the  Turkish 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  he  retained  it  for  several 
weeks,  in  order  to  prolong  the  misery  of  his  victim.  On 
the  10th  of  Feb.,  1840,  the  Patriarch,  by  compulsion, 
placed  the  imperial  requisition  for  the  return  of  our  per- 
secuted brother,  into  the  hands  of  his  father,  by  whom  it 
was  immediately  forwarded  to  Kaisery. 

The  violent  proceedings  of  those  in  power  at  Constan- 
tinople, that  have  been  narrated,  had  their  influence  in 
every  part  of  the  empire  where  Armenian  Protestants 
were  found  or  feared.  Indeed,  steps  were  taken  to  make 
the  persecution  universal.  The  influence  of  the  deposed 
Patriarch  Stepan,  was  sufficient  to  keep  the  Armenian 
authorities  in  Nicomedia  in  check,  although  they  v/ere 
just  ready  to  break  out  upon  the  evangelical  brethren 
there  when  Stepan  arrived.  In  Brusa,  near  the  beginning 
of  the  year,  the  bishop  Matteos  preached  with  great  vio- 
lence against  the  missionaries,  threatening  to  visit  with 
anathemas  all  who  should  have  any  intercourse  with 
them.  The  books  printed  at  our  press  were  diligently 
collected,  and  some  of  them  at  least  were  burnt.  Mr. 
Powers'  Armenian  assistant  was  compelled  to  leave  his 
service  ;  and  the  owner  of  his  house  was  actually  excom- 
municated, and  threatened  with  banishment,  because  he 
would  not  eject  the  missionary.  The  bishop  was  making 
arrangements  forcibly  to  remove  Mr.  Powers,  when, 
through  the  American  Consul,  the  consent  of  the  governor 
of  the  city  was  obtained  for  him  to  remain.  The  mission 
struggled  hard  even  for  existence,  and  both  the  mission- 
aries and  the  few  native  brethren  found  there,  passed 
many  days  and  nights  of  deep  anxiety,  and  of  alternate 
hope  and  fear  ;  but  the  Lord  at  length  brought  deliver- 


84  PERSECUTION  AT  TREBIZOND. 

ance  ;  and  no  one  was  really  hurt.  The  two  teachers 
who  were  hopefully  pious,  were  not  even  removed  from 
the  school,  although  they  were  severely  reprimanded,  and 
held  up  to  public  scorn  in  the  church  by  the  bishop,  for 
having  had  intercourse  with  the  foreigners.  After  the 
storm  had  subsided,  one  of  the  missionaries  wrote,  "  It  is 
grateful  to  look  out  again,  and  behold  the  face  of  the  clear 
sky,  and  find  ourselves  escaped  from  impending  dangers, 
and  our  little  bark,  uninjured  by  the  tempest,  again  head- 
ing before  the  wind." 

There  was  satisfactory  evidence,  that,  even  in  the 
midst  of  these  troubles,  the  truth  was  making  silent 
progress  among  the  people.  The  more  intelligent  of 
them  well  knew  the  falsity  of  the  charges  brought  against 
the  missionaries,  and  it  required  no  superior  logical 
powers,  to  infer  that  the  clergy  were  enemies  of  the  light, 
and  from  purely  selfish  motives,  wished  to  blind  the 
minds  of  the  common  people,  and  keep  them  in  igno- 
rance. The  conviction  that  a  thorough  reformation  was 
needed,  had  already  gained  possession  of  many  minds ; 
and  the  persecuting  measures  of  the  ecclesiastics  contrib- 
uted, perhaps,  more  than  anything  else,  to  extend  and 
deepen  this  impression. 

In  Trebizond,  the  first  step  of  the  ruling  powers  was  to 
remove  the  vartabed,  who  was  strongly  suspected  of 
leaning  towards  the  side  of  the  reformation,  and  not 
without  reason,  although  he  had  never  openly  espoused 
that  cause.  His  successor,  who  was  sent  from  Constan- 
tinople, lost  no  time  in  proclaiming  the  orders  of  the 
Patriarch,  forbidding  intercourse  with  the  missionaries, 
and  requiring  the  people  to  surrender  all  books  printed 
either  in  Smyrna  or  Calcutta,  to  his  hands,  that  he  might 


NEW    STATION    AT    ERZRUM.  85 

forward  them  to  head  quarters.  Those  who  had,  in  any- 
way, rendered  themselves  suspicious,  were  greatly  alarmed, 
and  the  orders  were  partially  obeyed.  Some,  however,  se- 
creted their  books  ;  and  one,  who  had  obtained  a  copy  of  the 
New  Testament  two  or  three  years  before,  but  through 
indifference,  had  never  read  it,  had  his  curiosity  greatly 
excited  to  know  what  there  was  in  a  book  which  the 
priests  were  so  anxious  to  get  from  him ;  and  he  imme- 
diately became  a  very  earnest  inquirer  after  the  truth. 
It  was  becoming  more  and  more  evident,  that  superstition 
was  gradually  loosing  its  hold  on  the  minds  of  several  of 
the  Armenians  in  Trebizond. 

At  the  very  time  when  the  storm  was  raging  at  the 
capital,  and  at  different  points  on  the  sea  coast  of  the  em- 
pire, the  mission  was  pushing  its  advanced  posts  into  the 
very  heart  of  the  enemy's  country.  In  April,  Mr.  Jackson, 
from  Trebizond,  visited  Erzriim,  almost  in  the  center  of 
ancient  Armenia,  in  order  to  make  arrangements  for 
commencing  operations  in  that  town.  While  he  was 
there,  a  letter  was  publicly  read  in  the  church  from  the 
Patriarch,  warning  the  people  against  intercourse  with 
the  Americans,  and  against  patronizing  their  schools  and 
reading  their  books  ;  and  ordering  them  to  seize  such 
books,  wherever  they  could  be  found,  and  commit  them 
to  the  flames.  This  did  not  prevent  Mr.  Jackson  from 
procuring  a  dwelling  house,  which  he  accomplished  through 
the  kind  assistance  of  the  British  Consul,  and  on  the  11th 
of  September,  1839,  he  removed  there  with  his  family. 

In  February  of  the  same  year,  the  station  at  Constan- 
tinople was  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  the  Rev.  C. 
Hamlin  and  wife,  he  being  designated  to  open  a  seminary 
for  Armenian  boys. 


CHAPTER    V. 

Interesting  Season  of  Prayer — Persecution  overruled  for  good — Judgment 
upon  Persecutors — Charter  of  rights — Influence  of  Bankers  curtailed — 
Greek  Patriarch  removed — Folly  of  the  Armenian  Patriarch — His 
resignation — Appointment  of  Stepan — Return  from  exile  of  Mr.  Sa- 
hakian — Evangelical  Priests — Salvation  by  Grace — An  Evangelical  Con- 
fessor— Inquirers  multiplying — A  Persecutor  awakened — Opening  of  a 
room  in  the  City  proper — Removal  of  book  depository — Public  preach- 
ing— Seminary  at  Bebek — Charges  against  Mr.  Hamlin — Visit  to  Nico- 
media — Interesting  character  of  the  Converts — The  Gospel  carried  to 
Adabazar — Effects  of  Ecclesiastical  tyranny — Overruled  for  good — Re- 
action at  Brusa  and  Trebizond — Happy  death — Printing  at  Smyrna — 
Providence  removing  difliculties — Testimony  of  an  enemy — Change  in 
the  Armenian  style  of  preaching — Deep  feeling — Activity  of  Priest 
Vertanes — Progress  at  Nicomedia  and  Adabazar — Influence  of  a  Tract — 
Mr,  Schneider's  visit — Public  preaching — Book  distribution — Imbecile 
efforts  against  the  Bebek  Seminary — God  watching  over  his  Church. 

The  first  Monday  in  January,  of  the  year  1840,  was 
observed  as  a  day  of  special  fasting,  humiliation,  and 
prayer,  throughout  all  the  mission  stations  of  the  Board 
in  Turkey.  The  events  of  the  preceding  year,  and  the 
existing  state  of  things  in  the  country,  rendered  it  a  sea- 
son of  deep  interest.  The  subjects  of  prayer  were  many 
and  important ;  such  as  the  removal  of  obstacles  to  the 
spread  of  the  Grospel ;  the  opening  of  doors  of  access  ;  the 
unbinding  of  the  Word  of  God,  so  that  it  might  have  free 


PERSECUTION    OVERRULED    FOR    GOOD.  87 

course  and  be  glorified  ;  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the 
native  brethren,  enabling  them  to  endure  as  good  soldiers; 
and  the  general  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  first  on  all 
missionaries  and  native  brethren,  and  then  on  the  Patri- 
archs, bishops,  priests,  and  all  the  people,  of  whatever 
name  or  race.  It  was  a  precious  day,  and  long  to  be 
remembered. 

It  became  more  and  more  evident  that  the  persecuting 
power  had  received  a  check  from  which  it  would  not  im- 
mediately recover  ;  and  the  persecutors,  themselves,  soon 
perceived,  and  in  some  instances  acknowledged,  that  they 
had  committed  a  great  mistake.  Their  efforts  to  destroy 
the  truth  had  only  made  it  more  extensively  known  in 
the  land.  Nor  had  the  disregard  to  private  rights  shown 
by  many  of  the  clergy  ;  their  injustice,  violence,  and 
cruelty,  tended  at  all  to  increase  their  popularity  with 
the  people  at  large.  Said  a  highly  respectable  banker  to 
one  of  the  missionaries,  "  I  have  entirely  done  with  our 
clergy.  They  are  altogether  a  bad  set  of  men,  from  the 
Patriarch  down  ;  and  I  am  determined  to  have  nothing 
more  to  do  with  them." 

Some  few  of  those  who  seemed  to  be  truly  converted, 
were  so  thoroughly  intimidated  by  the  violent  proceedings 
of  the  ecclesiastical  powers  during  the  last  year,  as  not  to 
be  easily  emboldened  to  visit  the  missionaries  for  several 
months ;  nor  even  to  give  them  a  sign  of  recognition  in 
the  streets. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  year  1840,  however,  inter- 
course was  resumed  with  most  of  those  whom  the  persecu- 
tion had  temporarily  repelled  from  us,  and  there  was  evi- 
dently no  diminution  of  interest  in  religious  inquiry.  One 
striking  providence  after  another  occurred,  calculated  to 

% 


88  JUDGMENTS    UPON    PERSECUTORS. 

lead  the  hearts  of  the  faithful  to  repose  on  G-od,  and  to  be 
"  nothing  terrified  by  their  adversaries."  In  several  in- 
stances, signal  judgments  followed  the  persecutor,  so  that 
even  the  enemies  themselves  were  constrained  to  ac- 
knowledge that  Grod  himself  was  uttering  his  reproving 
voice.  The  sudden  manner  in  which  the  late  Sultan  was 
cut  off,  and  his  forces  by  land  and  sea  destroyed,  at  the 
very  time  when  he  was  aiding  by  his  authority  to  vex 
the  church,  has  already  been  noticed.  The  chief  instru- 
ment in  inducing  him  to  use  his  mighty  power  for  such  a 
purpose,  was,  by  the  death  of  his  royal  master,  deprived 
of  all  his  peculiar  influence  ;  and  shortly  after,  his  wife 
was  removed  by  death,  and  he  himself  brought  down  to 
the  grave's  mouth.  Another  powerful  man,  who  had  more 
than  once,  or  twice,  actively  opposed  and  persecuted  the 
evangelical  brethren,  within  a  short  space  of  time  lost  two 
daughters  by  sudden  death  ;  a  third  daughter  became  de- 
ranged, and  also  a  daughter-in-law  ;  his  wife  was  de- 
formed by  sickness,  and  also  made  nearly  blind,  and  he 
himself  became  a  miserable  invalid. 

But  the  most  remarkable  providence  of  all,  though  of  a 
different  kind,  remains  to  be  mentioned.  Soon  after  the 
young  Sultan  came  upon  the  throne,  a  charter  of  rights 
was  granted  to  the  people,  without  their  asking  for  it, 
providing  for  some  fundamental  changes  in  the  internal 
administration  of  the  government.  In  the  presence  of  all 
the  foreign  ambassadors,  the  sovereign  solemnly  pledged 
himself  to  guard,  as  far  as  in  him  lay,  the  liberty,  prop- 
erty, and  honor  of  every  individual  subject,  without 
reference  to  his  religious  creed.  No  one  was  to  be  con- 
demned, in  any  case,  without  an  impartial  trial,  and  no 
one  was  to  suffer  the  penalty  of  death,  without  the  sane- 


CHARTER    OF    RIGHTS.  89 

tion  of  the  Sultan  himself.  No  person  conversant  with 
Turkey  would  expect  that  such  a  change  could  be 
effected  all  at  once  ;  nor  be  surprised,  if,  for  many  years, 
so  extraordinary  a  pledge  should  seem  to  be  better  known 
by  its  breach  than  by  its  observance.  And  superficial  ob- 
servers would  represent  the  whole  affair  as  a  mere  pretense, 
worthy  only  of  ridicule.  "Under  this  very  charter,  however, 
changes  the  most  momentous,  particularly  for  the  Christian 
and  Jewish  population,  have  already  taken  place  in  Tur- 
key ;  and  everything  now  indicates,  that  according  to  the 
honest  intention  and  policy  of  the  present  government, 
there  is  ultimately  to  be  a  complete  carrying  out  of  its 
provisions,  in  every  part  of  the  empire.  The  important 
connection  between  the  religious  liberty  at  present  en- 
joyed by  the  Protestants  in  Turkey,  and  this  charter  of 
rights,  will  be  duly  noticed  in  its  proper  place.  The  more 
immediate  and  direct  bearing  of  the  changes  here  alluded 
to,  upon  the  Protestant  cause,  demands  our  present  atten- 
tion. 

Under  the  old  system,  bankers  were  needed  to  furnish 
capital  to  the  pashas,  until  they  could  procure  their  sup- 
plies from  the  oppressed  people.  An  important  part  of 
the  new  system,  however,  was,  that  thenceforward  the 
ruling  pashas  and  governors  throughout  the  country, 
should  each  receive  a  fixed  salary  from  the  government ; 
and  in  no  case  meddle  with  th^  collection  of  taxes.  Ac- 
cordingly, near  the  beginning  of  the  year  1840,  all  the 
bankers  of  the  government  received  orders  to  settle  up 
their  accounts,  as  they  were  to  be  no  longer  needed  in 
the  capacity  in  which  they  had  heretofore  served  the 
state.  This  threw  many  of  them  into  great  distress,  and 
some  it  completely  ruined.     One  was  driven,  in  his  des- 


90  GREEK    PATRIARCH    REMOVED. 

peration,  to  the  crime  of  suicide.  All  who  had  capital 
remaining,  were  obliged  to  seek  other  methods  of  invest- 
ing it ;  and  their  influence  with  the  government,  was,  ii^ 
great  measure,  nullified.  Thus  did  God  put  another  ob- 
stacle out  of  the  way,  which  hitherto  had  seriously  ob- 
structed the  progress  of  his  kingdom. 

In  this  connection  may  be  mentioned  the  removal  from 
office  of  the  Greek  Patriarch.  Although  the  spiritual 
head  of  another  community,  yet,  both  the  fact  of  his 
degradation  and  the  manner  of  it,  had  an  important 
bearing  on  the  progress  of  evangelical  sentiment  among 
the  Armenians.  His  joining  hands  with  the  Armenian 
Patriarch,  in  anathematizing  the  people  of  God,  has 
already  been  mentioned.  In  the  spring  of  1840,  he  was 
suddenly  deposed  from  his  office,  by  order  of  the  Turkish 
government.  He  was  found  guilty  of  employing  his 
official  influence  in  fomenting  rebellion  in  one  of  the 
Ionian  Islands,  which,  it  will  be  remembered,  are  under 
British  rule ;  and  his  removal  from  office,  it  is  said,  was 
procured  by  the  English  Ambassador.  Common  report, 
however,  among  the  Armenians,  would  have  it,  that  his 
offense  was,  his  public  and  oft-repeated  defamations  of 
Protestantism, 

The  occupant  of  the  Armenian  see  did  not  much  longer 
hold  his  place.  He  proved  himself  to  be  too  overbearing 
and  violent  to  be  managed,  even  by  those  who  took  the 
pains  to  send  for  him  to  fill  this  place.  God  also  gave 
him  up  to  do  the  most  foolish  things,  so  as  to  bring  dis- 
grace upon  himself,  and  the  whole  Armenian  community. 
One  of  his  own  bishops,  whom  he  had  banished  for  some 
misdemeanor,  returned,  in  spite  of  his  superior,  and  went 
forthwith  and  joined  himself  to  the  Jesuits.     Afterwards, 


FOLLY    OF    THE    ARMENIAN    PATRrARCII.  91 

he  came  alone  into  the  room  where  the  Patr  rch  was 
sitting,  and  insulted  him  with  the  most  opprobrious  lan- 
guage, bidding  him  defiance  to  his  very  face.  The  poor 
Patriarch  was  utterly  powerless.  He  could  not  even 
protect  his  own  beadles  from  being  flogged  and  im- 
prisoned by  the  Turks.  Before  the  summer  was  out,  he 
was  obliged  to  recommend  as  a  teacher  to  a  banker's 
family,  one  of  the  very  persons  whom  he  had  lately 
banished  as  a  heretic.  At  length  he  became  so  univer- 
sally unpopular,  and  even  odious,  that  in  the  early  part  of 
November,  1840,  he  was  obliged  to  resign  the  insignia  of 
his  office,  to  avoid  forcible  deposition.  It  was  not  among 
the  least  significant  of  the  signs  of  the  times,  that 
Stepan,  the  very  man  who  had  so  recently  been  ejected 
for  his  mildness  and  forbearance  towards  the  Protestants, 
and  had  even  been  suspected  of  Protestantism  himself, 
was  now  again  elected  to  the  Patriarchal  office,  first  by 
vote  of  the  principal  bankers,  and  afterwards  by  accla- 
mation, in  an  immense  popular  assembly  convened  for  the 
purpose.  This  prelate,  after  his  return  to  office,  remarked 
to  a  friend,  in  reference  to  those  who  had  been  banished 
for  heresy,  without  even  the  form  of  trial — "  If  an  exami- 
nation were  made  as  to  the  manner  in  which  we  treated 
these  men,  what  should  we  say  ?  What  justice  is  there 
in  such  a  mode  of  proceeding  ?  Nicodemus  asked  the 
Jewish  Council,  '  Doth  our  law  judge  a  man  before  it 
hath  heard  him?'  But  we  have  done  this  very  thing. 
We  have  condemned  and  punished  these  men  unheard." 

On  the  24th  of  May,  1840,  our  brother,  Sahakian,  the 
last  of  the  exiles,  returned  to  the  capital.  His  presence 
there,  under  such  circumstances,  tended  greatly  to  en- 
courage and  strengthen  the  native  brethren  ;  and  he  soon 


92  SALVATION    BY    GRACE. 

commenced  a  series  of  active  labors  for  the  good  of  his 
countrymen.  Priest  Yertanes  also,  not  being  able  con- 
scientiously to  perform  ail  the  duties  required  of  him  as 
priest,  quietly  and  unostentatiously  withdrew  ;  and  re- 
solved to  devote  his  whole  time  in  laboring  for  the  spread 
of  the  truth  among  his  countrymen.  He  then  abandoned, 
voluntarily,  a  situation  in  which  he  was  honored  and  sup- 
ported, for  one  in  which  he  was  exposed  to  constant  sus- 
picion, reproach,  and  persecution,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  with  very  uncertain  means  of  subsistence.  Priest 
Kevork  seemed  to  be  "  full  of  faith  and  the  Holy  Ghost," 
preaching  more  boldly  than  before  his  banishment,  that 
there  is  but  "  one  name  given  under  heaven  among  men 
whereby  we  must  be  saved  ;''  and  ready  to  sufter  again, 
if  need  be,  for  his  beloved  Lord  and  Master.  The  doc- 
trinal views  of  the  converted  Armenians  seemed,  in  gene- 
ral, wonderfully  clear  ;  which  was  the  more  surprising, 
considering  the  immense  rubbish  of  superstition  and 
error  that  originally  encumbered  their  minds.  The 
standard  doctrine  of  the  reformation  in  Europe — sal- 
vation by  grace  alone,  without  the  deeds  of  the  law,  was 
usually  the  great  central  truth,  first  apprehended  by  their 
awakened  and  inquiring  minds,  and  made  the  ground 
of  satisfactory  repose.  Before  it,  the  multifariou  s  errors 
of  the  ritual  and  priestly  system  melted  away  as  snow  be- 
fore the  summer's  sun  ;  and  around  it,  every  other  essen- 
tial truth  in  the  gospel  scheme  naturally  clustered. 

One  of  the  enlightened  priests  who  had  not  yet  retired 
from  the  office  of  the  priesthood,  though  his  conscience 
was  by  no  means  quiet  on  the  subject,  resolved  to  be 
faithful  to  the  souls  of  the  people  committed  to  his  care, 
so  long   as   he    retained   this   relation  to   them.     Before 


EVANGELICAL    CONFESSOR.  Qii 

Easter,  according  to  custom,  they  came  to  him  to  confess 
their  sins,  to  the  number  of  nearly  or  quite  five  hundred. 
After  he  had  heard  what  they  had  to  say,  he  addressed 
them  as  follows : — "And  now,  my  good  people,  I  have  no 
power  to  absolve  you  from  sin.  You  must  go  to  Christ 
for  that ;  and  until  you  have  become  reconciled  to  Ood, 
and  feel  that  you  have  his  forgi  "eness,  you  must  not  dare 
to  come  to  the  table  of  the  Lord."  Nor  was  he  a  respecter 
of  persons.  One  of  the  richest  and  most  influential 
bankers  in  Constantinople  belonged  to  his  church,  and  in 
fact,  contributed  most  that  was  raised  for  the  priest's  sup- 
port. Agreeably  to  his  custom,  this  distinguished  indivi- 
dual requested  that  the  communion  might  be  administered 
to  him  on  a  separate  occasion,  and  in  preparation  for  it, 
he  went  privately  to  the  priest  for  confession.  Our  bro- 
ther, nothing  daunted,  said  to  him,  "  This  is  a  matter 
that  lies  between  your  own  soul  and  Grod.  I  cannot  give 
you  absolution,  but  can  only  direct  you  where  you  can 
obtain  it.  You  have  sinned,  and  unless  you  truly  repent, 
you  must  not  come  and  partake  of  the  Lord's  supper^ 
You  must  first  go  and  be  reconciled  to  God,  and  with 
repentance,  and  true  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  come  to  the 
Lord's  table."  The  banker  went  away  with  a  conscience 
so  troubled  that  he  could  not  make  up  his  mind  to  par- 
take of  the  sacrament,  although  he  had  probably  never 
omitted  it  before  at  this  season,  since  he  came  to  years  of 
discretion. 

The  number  of  inquirers  steadily  increased,  and  indeed 
nearly  all  who  called  upon  the  missionaries,  came  for  the 
avowed  purpose  of  religious  conversation.  The  story  had 
been  very  industriously  circulated,  especially  during  the 

persecution,  that  the  Americans  were  a  nation  of  infidels; 
5* 


94  PERSECUTOR    AWAKENED.  '^  ^ 

without  even  the  form  of  religion  ;  and  that  the  mission- 
aries were  aiming  to  convert  all  the  Armenians  to  infide- 
lity, and  only  pretended  at  first  to  believe  the  Bible,  so  as 
the  more  easily  to  draw  the  people  into  their  snares.  The 
words  Framason  (Freemason),  Lutran  (Lutheran),  Volter 
(Yoltaire),  and  Protestan  (Protestant),  were  freely  and 
indiscriminately  applied  to  us,  all  of  them  being  consi- 
dered by  the  common  people  as  synonymous,  and  the 
meaning  being  rather  indefinite,  but  yet  implying  an 
atheist  of  the  most  wicked  and  dangerous  description.  To 
the  emissaries  of  Rome  in  the  East,  undoubtedly,  be- 
longs the  first  paternity  of  this  falsehood,  and  to  their 
humble  and  sycophantic  imitators  among  the  clergy  and 
laity  of  the  Armenian  Church  must  be  yielded  the  honor 
of  its  second  parentage.  In  more  than  one  instance,  our 
visitors  showed  at  first  no  little  anxiety  to  know  exactly 
what  was  the  truth  of  the  matter  ;  and  whether  we  have 
any  churches  in  America,  and  whether  any  number  of 
people  ever  assembled  for  worship  on  the  Sabbath  ! 

Among  the  inquirers  at  this  time,  was  a  young  teacher 
who  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  persecution,  and 
especially  in  procuring  the  banishment  of  Mr.  Sahakian. 
He  had  been  a  most  confirmed  Pharisee,  fnlly  determined 
to  work  his  own  way  to  heaven,  by  prayers  and  masses, 
confessions  and  penances.  Providentially  he  was  thrown 
for  a  few  months  within  the  parochial  jurisdiction  of  one 
of  the  converted  priests,  and  heard  from  him,  for  the  first 
time  in  his  life,  the  inability  of  the  priest  to  absolve  from 
sin,  and  of  the  sacraments  to  purify  the  soul.  The  priest 
brought  him  to  us,  and  he  soon  learned  that  the  just  shall 
live  by  faith ^  and  was  enabled  to  repose  on  Christ  alone 
as  his  atoning,  his  justifying,  and  his  sanctifying  Saviour ; 


OPENING    OF    A    ROOM    IN    THE    CITY    PROPER.  95 

as  all  and  in  all.  This  was  Mr.  Apisoghom  Khachadu- 
rian,  who  became  the  first  pastor  of  the  first  evangelical 
Armenian  church  formed  in  Turkey. 

Early  in  the  autumn  of  1840,  I  adopted  the  rule  of 
going  over  to  the  bazars  and  khans,  in  the  city  proper, 
every  Thursday,  for  the  purpose  of  seeking  opportunities 
of  addressing  men  on  the  salvation  of  their  souls.  Before 
the  end  of  the  year  1840,  the  expediency  of  providing  a 
room,  in  the  business  quarter  of  the  city,  for  receiving 
visitors,  and  for  conference  on  religious  subjects,  became 
quite  apparent ;  and  one  was  procured  and  opened  forth- 
with. Many  were  desirous  of  conversing  with  a  mission- 
ary, who  were  closely  occupied  from  morning  till  night, 
with  busin?.ss,  and  could  not  afford  the  time  requisite  to 
visit  us  at  our  dwelling  houses,  which  were  at  least  two 
miles  distant.  To  all  such,  our  room  in  the  khan  afforded 
every  facility.  It  was  open  on  two  stated  days  of  each 
week,  and  gradually  became  a  place  of  much  resort  for 
religious  inquiry. 

About  the  same  time  our  book  depository  was  removed 
to  the  very  heart  of  the  city ;  and  there,  in  the  most 
public  manner,  the  products  of  our  press,  so  lately  anathe- 
matized by  the  Patriarch,  were  daily  sold  by  our  agent, 
who  was  himself  an  Armenian.  A  highly  respectable  in- 
dividual, who,  a  few  months  before,  would  not  have  dared 
to  be  seen  even  reading  one  of  our  publications,  now 
came  forward,  of  his  own  accord,  and  offered  himself  as 
our  bookseller  !  More  than  three  hundred  dollars  worth 
of  books,  in  the  different  languages,  were  sold  at  Con- 
stantinople during  the  year  1840. 

A  weekly  meeting  in  the  Armenian  language,  com- 
menced by  the  writer  in  the  autumn  of  1839,  with  only 


h 


96  SEMINARY    AT    BEBEK. 

three  individuals,  and  that  privately,  for  fear  of  the  per- 
secutors, gradually  increased,  as  fear  wore  away,  and 
before  the  end  of  1840,  it  was  held  twice  a  week,  pub- 
licly, and  more  than  twenty-five  different  individuals  had 
attended. 

In  the  autumn  of  this  last  year,  a  boarding  school,  for 
Armenian  boys  and  young  men,  was  opened  at  Bebek,  on 
the  Bosphorus,  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Hamlin. 
He  had  previously  had  several  interesting  day  scholars, 
but  this  did  not  meet  the  growing  wants  of  the  commu- 
nity. The  plan  of  a  boarding  school  had  repeatedly  been 
urged  upon  us  by  persons  of  influence,  and  several 
scholars  of  a  promising  character  had  been  offered.  The 
school  was  opened  on  the  24th  of  November,  1840,  with 
three  pupils,  and  within  about  a  v/eek,  applications  had 
been  made  for  fifteen  boarding  scholars,  though  our 
means,  at  first,  would  allow  us  to  receive  only  twelve. 
An  effort  was  soon  made  to  crush  the  infant  seminary, 
though  it  proved  entirely  futile,  and  was  in  itself  not  a 
little  ludicrous.  A  deputation  from  the  village  of  Bebek 
itself,  consisting  of  the  Armenian  priest,  two  G-reek 
priests,  one  of  the  village  rulers,  and  several  of  the  inhab- 
itants, called  upon  the  Armenian  Patriarch,  and  ex- 
pressed to  him  their  deep  regret  that  such  a  dangerous 
man  as  Mr.  Hamlin  should  be  allowed  to  reside  in  their 
quarter.  They  accused  him  of  eating  meat,  eggs,  butter, 
milk,  &c.,  both  in  Lent,  and  also  on  "Wednesdays  and 
Fridays,  the  days  of  their  weekly  fast !  He  also  taught 
his  scholars  that  it  is  no  more  wicked  to  eat  butter  than 
oil ;  or  meat  than  bread  ;  or  eggs  than  olives  !  Another 
grievous  offense  was,  that  neither  Mr.  H.  nor  his  scholars 
,  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  ;  nor  worshipped  the  Virgin 


VISIT    TO    NICOMEDIA.  97 

Mary,  or  the  saints !  Of  course,  they  said,  he  must  be  a 
confirmed  infidel,  and  he  can  teach  nothing  better  in  his 
school  than  the  works  of  Voltaire  ! 

The  Patriarch  was  too  well  informed,  and  too  well  dis- 
posed, to  be  moved  by  such  an  application;  and  the 
petitioners  had  leave  to  withdraw. 

During  the  month  of  June,  1840,  Mr.  Hamlin  and  my- 
self visited  Nicomedia.  The  brethren  there  were  sorely 
threatened,  during  the  reign  of  violence  at  the  capital, 
but  no  serious  persecution  was  actually  attempted.  Our 
intercourse  with  them,  however,  was  generally  private, 
in  consequence  of  their  still  existing  fears ;  but  it  was  in 
the  highest  degree  satisfactory.  We  were  often  reminded 
of  the  primitive  days  of  the  Church,  when  gardens  and 
upper  rooms  were  selected  as  places  for  prayer  and  con- 
ference, "  for  fear  of  the  Jews."  Our  Nicomedia  brethren 
had  had  little  spiritual  aid  or  comfort  from  abroad.  They 
had  been  thrown  upon  their  Bibles  for  religious  teaching, 
and  upon  the  Holy  Spirit  for  their  expounder  of  religious 
truth,  and  upon  Grod  as  their  only  protector.  Who  then 
could  wonder  that  they  had  grown  rapidly  in  knowledge 
and  grace  ?  We  met  them  all  on  the  Sabbath,  first  in  a 
retired  garden,  where  we  sat  for  four  consecutive  hours, 
in  the  midst  of  a  small  circle  of  hungry  souls,  expounding 
to  them  the  Word  of  God,  and  preaching  the  Grospel  of 
Christ  ;  and  after  partaking  of  some  refreshment,  we  sat 
in  an  adjacent  house  three  hours  more,  talking  to  those  who 
were  present ;  and  later  in  the  day,  we  spent  three  hours  in 
the  same  manner,  in  another  garden,  making,  in  all,  about 
ten  hours  of  preaching  and  conversation  in  the  course  of 
one  Sabbath,  besides  about  an  hour  more  in  our  own  room, 
with  transient  persons  from  abroad.  And  yet  so  intense 
5 


98  GOSPEL  CARRIED  TO  ADABAZAR. 

was  the  interest  manifested  throughout,  by  every  indivi- 
dual present,  that  if  bodily  strength  had  held  out,  we 
could  most  gladly  have  talked  ten  hours  more. 

Many  questions  were  asked,  all  of  which  were  of  a 
deeply  practical  nature.  We  took  our  departure  from 
this  city  with  mingled  emotions  of  admiration,  gratitude, 
and  hope.  Truly  this  is  the  work  of  Grod's  Spirit, 
our  hearts  exclaimed,  and  it  cannot  be  that  it  will 
now  cease.  The  Lord  is  not  wont  to  do  after  this 
manner. 

AVhile  we  were  at  Nicomedia,  a  stranger  presented 
himself,  one  day,  at  our  room,  from  a  neighboring  town. 
He  was  a  merchant,  and  being  in  Nicomedia  on  business, 
he  had  the  curiosity  to  call  upon  us.  He  said  that  the 
report  of  us  had  reached  his  place,  through  the  Patriarch's 
letter,  warning  them  against  us  and  our  books  ;  and  that 
he,  in  common  with  many  of  his  brethren,  was  very 
anxious  to  know  what  this  new  way  is.  After  a  consid- 
erable time  had  been  spent  in  explaining  to  him  our 
views,  chiefly  in  answer  to  his  own  inquiries,  we  gave 
him  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament  in  the  modern  Arme- 
nian, and  also  several  tracts,  and  he  took  his  leave,  ex- 
pressing his  high  gratification  with  the  interview,  and 
his  belief  that  the  Armenians  of  his  town  would  be  con- 
vinced that  Protestantism  is  not,  after  all,  so  bad  a  thinsr 
as  has  been  represented  to  them.  In  this  way  was  the 
knowledge  of  the  Grospel  first  carried  to  Adabazar,  the 
residence  of  this  individual.  It  is  situated  about  twenty- 
seven  miles  directly  east  of  Nicomedia. 

The  mischievous  nature  and  effects  of  ecclesiastical 
tyranny,  as  developed  in  Brusa  during  the  persecution,  are 
graphically  described  by  the  missionaries.     They  say,  "  It 


EFFECTS    OF    ECCLESIASTICAL    TYRANNY.  99 

has  closed  our  schools  ;  it  has  gathered  and  consumed  our 
books,  not  excepting  even  the  Word  of  Grod  ;  it  has  pub- 
licly and  repeatedly  denounced  us  as  heretics  and  infidels, 
who  are  aiming  to  undermine  the  Christian  faith  ;  it  has 
prohibited  the  people,  on  pain  of  anathema,  prison,  and 
banishment,  to  hold  intercourse  with  us,  to  receive,  or 
read  our  books,  or  to  aid  or  favor  us  in  any  way.  By  its 
injunctions  our  doors  have  been  watched,  and  all  visitors 
have  been  reported  to  the  priests  ;  and  repeated  efforts  havo 
been  made  to  expel  us  from  our  houses,  and  drive  us  out  of 
the  city.  And  the  effects  of  these  measures  of  violence  have 
not  lasted  merely  for  a  day,  or  a  week.  They  have  spread 
themselves  over  many  months — even  the  greater  part  of  a 
year."  This  is  not  the  end  of  the  story,  however.  The 
prohibition  and  burning  of  books,  awakened  a  desire  in 
many  to  procure  and  read  these  books  for  themselves  : 
and  reading,  in  many  cases,  resulted  in  the  renunciation 
of  cherished  errors,  and  the  reception  of  more  correct 
views  of  religious  truth.  The  denunciations  uttered 
against  the  missionaries,  stimulated  some  minds,  at  least, 
to  investigate  personally  the  characters  of  those  who  were 
thus  publicly  reproached.  The  sensitiveness  of  their  spi- 
ritual guides  in  regard  to  the  free  circulation  of  the  Word 
of  God ;  their  injustice,  bitterness,  and  violence,  did 
more  in  a  few  months  towards  convincing  people  of  the 
iniquity  of  the  system,  and  the  need  of  a  thorough  re- 
form, than  years  of  argumentation  from  us  could  do. 

There  was  a  gradually  increasing  demand  for  books  in 
Brusa ;  and  orders  sometimes  came  from  places  thirty  or 
forty  miles  distant,  for  the  publications  of  the  mission 
press.  The  preaching  service  in  Turkish,  which  had  been 
suspended,  was  resumed  in  October,  and  was  attended  by 


100  REACTION    y\T    BRUSA    AND    TREBIZOND. 

from  twenty  to  thirty  hearers,  and  an  uncommon  solemnity 
and  tenderness  characterized  the  meetings.  Just  at  the 
close  of  the  year  1 840  there  appeared  more  evidence  than 
ever  before  of  the  special  presence  of  the  Spirit  of  G-od, 
moving  upon  the  hearts  of  those  who  attended  upon  the 
preaching  of  the  missionaries.  Before  the  end  of  January, 
1841,  two  or  three  persons  gave  very  pleasing  evidence 
of  a  change  of  heart,  and  a  number  more  were  in  a 
serious  state  of  mind. 

In  Trebizond  the  reaction  in  favor  of  G-od's  eternal 
truth,  was  not  less  marked  and  decisive,  though,  as  yet, 
fewer  persons  were  influenced.  Some  were  willing  to  be 
known  as  obedient  to  the  teachings  of  the  Scriptures, 
rather  than  the  teachings  of  the  Church ;  and  whatever 
doctrines  or  usages  they  found  not  based  upon  the  Word 
of  G-od,  they  unhesitatingly  rejected.  They  were  inte- 
rested in  the  study  of  the  Bible,  and  sought  eagerly  for 
the  instructions  of  the  missionary.  Only  one  of  these,  so 
far,  gave  evidence  of  a  real  change  of  heart,  and  he  was 
about  fifty  years  of  age.  The  Armenians  employed  as  first 
teacher  of  the  public  school,  a  pious  young  man  by  the 
name  of  Eprem,  from  Constantinople,  who  went  to  Tre- 
bizond in  order  to  escape  persecution.  His  influence  was 
exceedingly  important.  After  continuing  in  that  situation 
for  eighteen  months,  however,  a  disease  of  the  lungs  com- 
pelled him  to  withdraw.  He  returned  to  his  friends  at  the 
capital,  and  soon  after  rested  from  his  labors,  committing 
his  soul  to  the  Redeemer,  in  full  confidence  of  a  glorious 
immortality. 

The  station  at  Erzrum  encountered  all  the  difficulties 
usually  attending  first  efforts  among  an  uneducated  peo- 
ple.   Besides  an  unusual  degree  of  ignorance,  bigotry,  and 


LABORS    THROUGH    THE    PREaS.  101 

'rudeness,  there  was  a  most  appalling  amount  of  intem- 
perance prevailing  among  priests  and  people,  including 
men,  women,  and  even  children.  An  Armenian  assistant  of 
Mr.  Jackson  was  compelled  to  confess  to  a  priest.  It  is  usual 
in  such  cases  for  the  confessor  to  prescribe  some  penance 
as  a  pre-requisite  for  absolution.  A  very  common  penance 
is  to  read  over  the  whole  book  of  Psalms,  or  to  repeat  the 
Lord's  Prayer  a  certain  number  of  times.  In  this  instance 
the  priest  ordered  the  penitent,  whom  he  considered  a  very 
great  sinner,  for  not  keeping  the  fasts,  and  especially  for 
having  gone  to  live  with  a  Protestant  missionary,  to  kneel 
twenty-four  times  every  morning,  for  the  twenty-four 
prophets,  and  twelve  times  every  evening,  for  the  twelve 
apostles,  and  to  continue  to  do  this  for  a  whole  month ! 
Even  in  Erzrum,  however,  there  were  signs  of  better  days 
coming.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1840,  there 
was  an  increasing  demand  for  books,  and  particularly  for 
the  New  Testament,  and  Mr.  Jackson  found  the  people 
far  more  accessible  than  before. 

The  Rev.  H.  J.  Yan  Lennep  was  connected  with  the 
Smyrna  station  during  April,  1840.  The  labors  of  the 
missionaries  here  were  chiefly  through  the  press,  al- 
though preaching  was  not  neglected.  Yery  few  Smyrna 
Armenians,  however,  seemed  disposed  to  listen  to  the 
G-ospel.  Printing  was  done  both  in  the  Armenian  and 
Greek  languages  for  the  whole  mission,  and  far  more  was 
accomplished  in  this  department  during  the  year  1840 
than  in  any  former  year.  More  than  six  millions  of  pages 
were  printed  in  the  Armenian  and  Armeno-Turkish  lan- 
guages alone.  The  most  important  work,  by  far,  in  the 
latter  was  the  Pentateuch,  translated  under  Mr.  GroodelPs 
supervision.    Its  publication  was  hailed  with  joy  by  mul- 


102  PROVIDENCE    REMOVING    OBSTACLES. 

titudes,  and  it  only  rendered  them  the  more  impatient  to 
be  supplied  with  the  whole  Old  Testament  in  an  intelligi- 
ble language,  which  was  in  the  process  of  translation.  In 
the  modern  Armenian  tongue,  the  book  of  Psalms  was 
one  of  the  publications  issued,  the  writer  of  this  narrative 
having  superintended  the  translation. 

It  was  considered  a  favorable  omen  that  the  Armenians 
themselves,  of  Smyrna,  established  a  press,  and  com- 
menced the  publication  of  a  newspaper. 

Hitherto,  in  the  Armenian  mission,  every  contest  with 
the  enemies  of  reform  had  been  a  victory,  and  every 
change  that  had  taken  place  had  contributed  to  advance 
the  work.  This  was  the  more  remarkable,  considering 
the  peculiar  advantages  possessed  by  the  ecclesiastical 
authorities  in  Turkey  to  oppose  the  introduction  of  light. 
The  whole  structure  of  the  ecclesiastico-civil  government 
of  the  Patriarchs,  offered  every  facility  for  the  suppression 
of  heresy  by  measures  of  violence  ;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  discouraged  all  hope  of  toleration  in  the  country  for 
native  Protestants,  as  individuals ;  and  the  prospect  of  a 
community  of  Protestants  sufficiently  large  to  claim  from 
the  Turks  a  separate  organization,  was  so  distant  as  to 
appear  to  the  most  sanguine  only  as  a  dim  and  somewhat 
portentous  shadow.  The  example  of  the  Papal-Armenians 
was  mournfully  instructive  on  this  subject.  Still,  two 
things  were  now  fully  evident.  G-od  was  at  work  by  his 
Spirit  among  the  Armenians,  removing  the  films  of  igno- 
rance and  superstition  from  the  mental  eye,  and  drawing 
many  hearts  over  to  the  truth  :  and  ho  was  equally  at 
work  by  his  providence,  defeating  the  plans  of  his  ene- 
mies, defending  his  people  from  harm,  and  causing  the 
very  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him.     Here  was  an  experi- 


TESTIMONY    OF    AN    ENEMY.  103 

ment  that  had  never  yet  been  made  in  Turkey.  Here 
was  a  problem  that  was  neither  for  us  or  our  native 
brethren,  but  for  the  great  G-od  himself  to  solve.  Could 
his  own  spiritual  kingdom  be  set  up  there,  in  spite  of 
Patriarchs,  and  Synods,  and  all  the  mighty  combinations 
of  sacred  and  secular  power  that  were  arrayed  against  it  ? 
The  missionaries  and  those  who  sent  them  forth  believed 
that  it  could,  or  they  would  never  have  been  found  there ; 
and  God  was  teaching  the  most  incredulous  and  faltering, 
that  the  cause  was  safe  in  his  hands. 

Some  even  of  the  persecutors  themselves  were  saga- 
cious enough  to  see,  by  this  time,  that  they  were  con- 
tending against  an  invisible,  and  irresistible  power.  One 
of  the  leading  primates,  an  intelligent  man,  but  one  who 
had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  late  persecution,  was  un- 
expectedly thrown  in  company  with  the  writer.  I  spoke 
of  the  religious  condition  of  the  Armenians,  compared 
with  certain  Protestant  nations.  He  sat  thoughtfully  for 
awhile,  and  then  remarked,  "  Protestantism  is  destined 
to  spread  until  it  becomes  the  universal  religion."  I  then 
expatiated  upon  the  anti-Christian  spirit  of  persecution, 
when  the  primate  denied  having  had  any  participation  in 
the  violent  measures  against  the  Protestants  (a  known 
falsehood)  ;  and  remarked,  "  It  would  be  a  good  thing  if 
liberty  were  given  here,  as  in  some  other  countries,  for 
every  man  to  think  as  he  likes  in  matters  of  religion." 
The  work  of  persecution  is  so  palpably  unjust,  so  repul- 
sive to  every  good  feeling  of  the  heart,  so  odious  in  itself 
that  few,  indeed,  are  willing  to  acknowledge  participa- 
tion in  it.  Even  the  ex-Patriarch  himself,  who  was 
brought  here  because  it  was  supposed  he  was  exactly 
adapted  to  the  work,  remarked,  just   before,  leaving,  "I 


104      CHANGE    IN    THE    ARMENIAN    STYLE    OF    PREACHING. 

was  opposed  to  the  persecution,  but  a  few  of  the  leading 
men  would  have  it,  and  therefore  it  was  resorted  to." 
Man^i  of  these  very  men  alluded  to,  afterwards,  made 
substantially  the  same  declaration  of  their  personal  oppo- 
sition to  persecution. 

The  year  1841  opened  with  many  indications  that  a 
thorough  reformation  was  going  forward  in  the  Armenian 
community.  A  very  marked  difference  was  observed  in 
the  general  style  of  preaching  in  the  Armenian  churches 
at  the  capital.  The  vartabeds  had  learned  that  church 
legends  and  "  old  wives'  fables,"  would  no  longer  satisfy 
their  hearers.  There  was  a  growing  desire  to  study  the 
Scriptures,  and  a  disposition  to  compare  every  doctrine 
and  practice  with  the  written  word  ;  and  this  could  not, 
with  safety,  be  disregarded.  It  was  not  an  uncommon 
thing  to  hear  of  sermons  on  repentance,  on  the  Sabbath, 
on  the  judgment  day,  &c.,  altogether  based  upon  the 
Bible  ;  and,  in  some  instances,  we  were  knowing  to  the 
fact  that  the  preachers  borrowed  largely  from  our  own 
publications  for  their  materials.  Indeed,  we  had  re- 
peated applications  to  furnish  matter  directly  for  sermons, 
for  one  of  the  most  respectable  vartabeds  in  Constanti- 
nople. Another  of  the  vartabeds  went  so  far  even  as  to 
combat  the  prevailing  error  of  substituting  Mary,  and 
the  saints  as  mediators  for  Christ,  declaring  that  the 
name  of  Christ  is  the  only  one  given  under  heaven,  among 
men,  whereby  we  can  be  saved.  These  things  were  en- 
tirely new  and  strange  ;  and  indicative  of  a  change  in 
the  feelings  of  the  people,  if  not  in  the  opinions  and  char- 
acter of  their  teachers. 

As  the  reformation  advanced,  instances  of  pungent  con- 
viction  for   sin,  and  a  strong  and  deep  apprehension  of 


DEEP    PEELING.  105 

spiritual  things  became  more  common  than  had  before 
been  noticed.  One  old  man  of  sixty,  perhaps,  who  had 
long  attended  our  preaching,  and  who  was  quite  infirm, 
one  day  said  to  me,  "  I  have  nearly  finished  my  pilgrim- 
age, I  cannot  remain  here  much  longer."  I  replied  that 
it  matters  little  how  soon  we  go,  provided  we  are  pre- 
pared. '•  Yes,"  he  replied,  bursting  into  tears,  "  but  I 
am  not  prepared  ;  I  feel  that  I  am  not  prepared."  Ano- 
ther man  of  about  forty-five  was  suddenly  awakened  and 
converted.  Very  few  cases  have  I  ever  seen,  where  the 
truth  took  a  stronger  hold  of  a  man's  mind.  He  said, 
with  emphasis,  "  I  have  been  a  great  sinner,  but  I  hope 
God  has  had  mercy  upon  me,  through  the  merits  of  Jesus 
Christ.  I  used  to  fear  death,  but  now,  thanks  to  Grod, 
this  fear  is  removed  ;  I  feel  that  I  am  Christ's  ;  and  that 
when  I  die,  I  shall  go  to  be  with  him."  Another  indi- 
vidual, who  having  been  guilty  of  some  flagrant  sins,  had 
fallen  into  a  state  of  despair  in  regard  to  himself,  was  in- 
duced to  come  and  hear  our  Armenian  preaching.  After 
having  been  present  three  times  successively,  he  sought  a 
private  interview,  and  unburdened  his  almost  bursting 
heart.  Said  he,  '^  I  was  in  despair,  but  now  I  begin  to 
hope  there  may  be  mercy  even  for  me.  Tell  me,  what 
must  I  do  to  be  saved."  These  are  given  as  examples  of 
what  was  rather  frequently  witnessed  in  those  days.  Some 
who  were  drunkards,  gamblers,  and  adulterers,  and  some 
even  who  were  downright  infidels,  became  the  subjects  of 
an  entire  change,  and,  through  the  wonderful  grace  of  God, 
they  were  washed  and  sanctified,  and  enabled  to  exhibit, 
in  a  high  degree,  that  humility,  purity,  spirituality,  and 
Christian  zeal,  which  are  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  alone. 
Many  of  those  who  were  without,  were  constrained  to 
5* 


106  ACTIVITY    OF    PRIEST    VERTANES. 

speak  of  the  change  as  most  wonderful,  and  to  them,  un- 
accountable. The  converted  brethren  also,  with  scarcely 
an  exception,  appeared  to  be  growing  in  grace,  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  their  piety  did  not  ex- 
pend itself  in  closet  meditation  and  secret  prayer.  An 
active  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  others  was  one  of  its  most 
striking  characteristics.  The  number  of  females  inte- 
rested in  religious  inquiry  was  slowly  increasing,  al- 
though from  the  customs  of  oriental  society,  neither  the 
missionaries  nor  the  native  brethren  could  have  free  access 
to  them. 

Priest  Vertanes  was  full  of  activity  and  hope.  Almost 
every  day  he  brought  word  of  some  new  and  interesting 
case  of  inquiry  in  some  part  of  the  city.  His  whole  time 
was  occupied  in  going  from  house  to  house,  and  from 
shop  to  shop,  wherever  he  could  with  any  propriety,  or 
promise  of  usefulness,  call.  His  great  aim  was  to  induce 
people  to  study  the  Bible  for  themselves,  in  order  to  as- 
certain the  truth.  He  also  brought  many  to  the  preach- 
ing of  the  missionaries,  and  to  our  houses  for  private 
conversation.  It  is  a  singular  fact,  that  during  the 
spring  of  1841,  a  report  came  to  Constantinople  that  a 
considerable  number  of  Armenians  in  Nicomedia  had  be- 
come disaffected,  and  were  about  going  over  to  the 
Jesuits,  the  Patriarch  commissioned  our  colporteur,  this 
same  priest  "Vertanes,  to  go  there  with  all  speed,  and  en- 
deavor to  bring  them  back  to  their  mother  church. 
Thus  fortified  by  a  commission  from  the  highest  power, 
he  had  perfectly  free  access  to  every  family  in  the  Ar- 
menian community  in  that  town.  He  was  quite  suc- 
cessful in  the  object  of  his  mission,  and  while  he  heart- 
ily and   faithfully  obeyed  the  Patriarch,  and   endeavored 


INFLUENCE    OF    A    TRACT.  107 

to  persuade  men  not  to  suffer  themselves  to  fall  into  the 
clutches  of  Rome ;  he  also  labored  still  more  zealously 
to  bring  them  to  a  sense  of  their  sins  against  G-od,  and 
to  a  hearty  reception  of  Christ  alone,  as  the  Saviour  of 
their  souls.  His  visit  was  a  great  comfort  to  the  brethren 
in  Nioomedia,  as  well  as  an  advantage  to  the  cause  at 
large. 

One  of  the  leading  brethren  in  that  town  was  chosen  a 
counsellor  of  the  Armenian  community,  and  another  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  school  department.  Under  the 
direction  of  the  latter,  two  pious  men  were  appointed  as 
teachers  in  the  public  school,  consisting  of  two  hundred 
scholars. 

From  Adabazar  we  continued  to  receive  the  most 
cheering  intelligence.  An  attempt  was  made,  in  the 
spring  of  1841,  to  raise  a  storm  of  persecution,  and  one 
of  the  brethren  was  actually  thrown  into  prison.  He 
was  soon  liberated,  however,  by  a  powerful  friend,  and 
afterwards  the  truth  spread  more  rapidly  than  before. 
Regular  meetings,  for  prayer  and  reading  the  Scriptures, 
were  held  every  Sabbath,  and  from  twenty-five  to  fifty 
were  usually  present.  One  of  the  priests  seemed  to  have 
become  obedient  to  the  faith.  What  an  illustration  of  the 
usefulness  of  the  press  !  No  missionary  had  been  among 
these  brethren,  and  almost  the  only  instrumentality  em- 
ployed by  the  Holy  Spirit,  so  far,  was  the  publications  of 
our  press.  A  handbill  tract,  containing  simply  the  ten 
commandments,  in  the  modern  tongue,  without  note  or 
comment,  was  the  means  of  opening  many  eyes.  When 
they  read,  for  the  first  time  in  their  lives,  in  an  intelligi- 
ble language,  "  Thou  shalt  not  make  to  thyself  any 
graven  image,  &c,,"  they  said  to   one  another,  "  This  is 


108  PUBLIC    PREACHING. 

entirely  against  our  pictures.  Do  our  priests  know  that 
G-od  has  given  such  a  command  ?"  Thus  the  Word  of 
God  proved  *'  quick  and  powerful."  One  year  previously 
there  could  not  probably  have  been  found  a  single  soul, 
among  the  four  thousand  Armenian  inhabitants  of  Adaba- 
zar,  who  was  not  groping  in  the  deepest  spiritual  dark- 
ness. Now,  some  two  scores  or  more  were  convinced  of 
the  errors  of  their  Church,  and  ready  to  take  the  Bible  as 
their  only  religious  guide,  and  several  appeared  to  be  truly 
converted  men,  and  were  willing  even  to  lay  down  their 
lives  for  Christ. 

They  had  sent  repeated  invitations  for  a  missionary  to 
visit  them,  but  the  pressing  nature  of  our  work  at  Con- 
stantinople had  hitherto  prevented  a  compliance  with  the 
request.  At  length,  in  the  autumn  of  1841,  Mr.  Schnei- 
der, of  Brusa,  was  enabled  to  gratify  them.  His  visit 
was  hailed  with  joy,  by  all  the  evangelical  brethren,  and 
he  returned  with  the  most  delightful  and  cheering  impres- 
sions, from  all  that  he  had  heard  and  saw,  that  what  had 
been  done  was  truly  the  work  of  G-od's  Spirit.  A  spirit 
of  inquiry  was  found  to  be  extending  itself  through  many 
of  the  neighboring  villages. 

During  the  year  1841,  the  public  and  formal  preaching 
of  the  Word  attracted  increased  attention  at  all  the  mis- 
sion stations  in  Turkey,  and  was,  in  general,  attended  with 
the  most  happy  results.  At  Smyrna,  the  number  of 
hearers  was  very  small,  and  yet  some  were  solemnly  im- 
pressed by  the  truth.  At  Trebizond,  Mr.  Johnson  com- 
menced a  public  religious  service  in  November,  1840,  and 
it  gradually  increased  in  numbers  and  interest  through  the 
following  year.  The  bishop  made  some  show  of  opposi- 
tion.    He  summoned  several  of  the  regular  attendants 


BOOK    DISTRTBUTTON.  109 

before  him,  and  charged  them  to  go  no  more.  This  had 
no  effect,  however,  unless  it  was  to  increase  the  number  of 
hearers.  More  than  thirty  were  present,  at  different  time«, 
and  while  all  were  interested  in  hearing  the  gospel,  a  few, 
at  least,  appeared  to  be  made  wise  unto  salvation.  Among 
these  was  a  young  man  belonging  to  the  class  of  Papal  Ar- 
menians. But  the  largest  congregation  in  the  interior  was 
that  at  Brusa,  where  Mr.  Schneider  was  preaching  to  a 
"  room  full,"  during  the  summer  months.  Several  indi- 
viduals showed  signs  of  personal  anxiety,  and  two  at 
least,  were  hopefully  converted  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  It 
was  known  that  a  large  number  of  Armenians  had  a 
desire  to  attend  the  preaching,  but  they  could  not  over- 
come their  fears  of  persecution.  There  were  daily  calls 
for  books,  and  about  247  volumes  were  sold  at  an  an- 
nual fair  in  Balikesr,  near  Brusa,  by  Mr,  Schneider's 
agent. 

In  Constantinople,  a  most  singular  state  of  things  ex- 
isted. The  Patriarch  was  personally  well-disposed 
towards  the  evangelical  party,  but  still,  by  no  means  a 
decided  friend,  and  easily  influenced  the  bankers.  His 
Vicar,  or  rather  colleague,  for  such  he  became,  though  by 
no  means  bigoted,  probably  not  much  of  a  believer  in 
anything,  was  time-serving  and  somewhat  cunning.  A 
pretty  strong  portion  of  the  tradesmen  were  in  favor  of  a 
change  of  Patriarch,  and  as  a  most  ready  means  of  accom- 
plishing their  object,  they  spread  the  story  everywhere, 
that  Stepan,  the  occupant  of  the  see,  was  a  Protestant, 
and  was  playing  into  the  hands  of  the  missionaries.  As 
an  evidence  of  this,  they  pointed  triumphantly  to  our 
Seminary  at  Bebek,  consisting  altogether  of  Armenian 
boys,  and  yet  their  parents  were  not  ordered  to  keep 
6 


110    IMBECILE  EFFORTS  AGAINST  BEBEK  SEMINARY. 

them  at  home.  It  was  necessary  for  the  poor  Patriarch 
to  do  something.  The  Yicar  summoned  before  him,  a 
priest  and  two  laymen,  who  had  children  there,  and  pri- 
vately told  them  to  remove  their  boys  ;  but  charged  them 
not  to  speak  about  it  in  public.  The  priest  obeyed,  but 
after  a  few  days,  brought  his  boy  back.  The  Yicar 
again  ordered  him  to  remove  his  child.  He  again  obeyed, 
but  soon  returned  him  as  before.  This  was  repeated  four 
or  five  times.  At  length  the  school  was  voluntarily  sus- 
pended, for  a  few  weeks,  by  Mr.  Hamlin  ;  and  then  went 
on  more  prosperously  than  ever.  The  number  of  students 
was  increased  to  twenty-four,  and  many  applicants  for 
admission  were  refused  for  want  of  funds.  Some  of  the 
parents  plainly  told  the  Yicar  that  they  could  never  re- 
move their  children,  until  as  good  a  school  was  furnished 
by  their  own  Church. 

We  had  previously  been  advised  by  a  particular  friend 
of  ours,  who  was  also  intimate  with  the  Patriarch,  not  to 
enlarge  our  Seminary  at  present,  and  to  be  cautious  in 
our  other  operations,  as  otherwise,  the  Patriarch  might 
be  compelled  by  his  political  opponents,  who  were  charg- 
ing him  with  favoring  the  Protestants,  to  break  up  the 
school.  A  terrible  quarrel,  however,  soon  broke  out  be- 
tween the  bankers  and  the  tradesmen,  in  reference 
chiefly  to  the  alleged  mismanagement  of  the  pecuniary 
affairs  of  the  college  at  Scutary,  which  kept  the  whole 
community  in  a  state  of  intense  excitement  and  agita- 
tion for  many  months ;  and,  in  the  meantime,  we  and 
our  native  brethren  were  left  to  prosecute  our  labors 
unmolested.  Thus  did  Grod  watch  over  the  interests  of 
his  infant  church ;  and  sometimes  by  visiting  his  ene- 
mies   with    judgments,    and     sometimes     by    throwing 


GOD    WATCHING    OVER    HIS    CHURCH.  J 11 

confusion  into  their  counsels,  and  leading  them  to 
bite  and  devour  one  another,  he  carried  his  people 
on  from  strength  to  strength,  and  from  conquering  to  con- 
quer. 


CHAPTE  R     VI. 

Rupture  between  the  Bankers  and  Tradesmen — The  Clergy  despised  by 
the  People — Appointment  of  two  Committees — Removal  of  the  Patriarch 
— Appointment  of  Asduadzadur — His  Character — Enlightened  Vicar — 
Increase  of  the  Church — Spirituality — Prayer — A  Vartabed  Convicted — 
An  Ascetic  Converted  to  Christ — Visits  at  the  Khan — Hearers  from  the 
Interior — Monthly  Concert  of  Prayer — First  Native  Mission — Care 
for  the  Jews — Female  Inquirers — Co-laborers — Extensive  Demand  for 
Books — Mr.  Goodell's  Translation  of  the  Old  Testament  completed — 
Love  of  the  Bible — Book  against  Protestantism — Enemies  of  the  Semi- 
nary made  Friends — Mr.  Wood's  Arrival — Influence  of  the  Seminary — 
Disaffected  Brethren — New  Inquirers  at  Brusa — Arrival  of  Mr.  Ladd — 
Hostile  Bishop — Evangelical  Influences  at  Trebizond — Inquiring  Priest 
at  Erzrflm — Arrival  of  Mr.  Peabody — Violence  of  the  Bishop — Enemies 
turned  to  Friends  in  Adabazar — New  Impulse  in  Nicomedia — Religious 
Inquiry  at  Smyrna. 

The  rupture  between  the  bankers  and  the  tradesmen, 
alluded  to  at  the  close  of  the  last  chapter,  had  bearings 
so  important  as  to  deserve  a  more  distinct  notice.  The 
original  occasion  of  the  quarrel  has  been  stated.  Its  real 
cause  is  to  be  traced  to  the  domineering  and  dictatorial 
spirit  of  some  of  the  bankers,  to  whose  officious  irrespon- 
sible rule,  the  increasing  intelligence  of  the  tradesmen 
was  teaching  them  no  longer  quietly  to  submit.  The  latter 
succeeded  in  procuring  the  appointment,  by  the  people,  of 
a  committee  of  counsellors,  consisting  of  twenty-four  per- 


CLERGY  DESPISED  BY  THE  PEOPLE.         113 

sons,  to  whom,  thereafter,  every  question  of  importance, 
pertaining  to  the  business  matters  of  the  Armenian  com- 
munity, was  to  be  referred.  After  a  brief  interval  of  repose, 
a  list  of  charges,  which  had  been  made  out  by  the  united 
efforts  of  some  of  the  bankers,  and  some  of  the  clergy, 
was  presented  by  the  Patriarch  to  the  Porte,  against  these 
twenty-four  men.  One  of  these  charges  was  so  grave  as 
to  require  prompt  action  on  the  part  of  the  Turks.  It 
was  nothing  more  nor  less  than  that  this  popular  com- 
mittee had  formed  the  plan  of  placing  themselves  and  the 
people  under  the  protection  of  Russia,  and  thus  bidding 
defiance  to  the  Turks !  The  whole  twenty-four  were  im- 
mediately thrown  into  prison.  As  soon  as  the  people 
heard  of  it,  they  rushed  to  the  Sublime  Porte,  to  the 
number  of  from  four  to  six  thousand,  and  called  upon  the 
G-rand  Vizir  either  to  release  their  representatives,  or  im- 
prison them  all.  This  officer  replied  to  them  that  their 
own  bankers  and  Patriarch  were  their  accusers.  The 
people  exclaimed,  "  "We  do  not  acknowledge  the  authority 
of  our  bankers  or  clergy  ;  we  are  subjects  of  the  Sultan." 
It  soon  became  evident  that  the  true  policy  of  the 
government  was  to  yield,  and  the  prisoners  were  accord- 
ingly released.  The  people  then  demanded  the  immedi- 
ate removal  of  the  Patriarch.  Upon  this  the  bishops  and 
vartabeds  were  all  summoned  to  the  Porte,  and  the 
tradesmen  were  called  upon  to  select  from  among  them 
the  one  they  would  prefer  as  Patriarch.  The  reply  was, 
"  We  will  have  none  of  these  men  ;  they  are  all  alike 
bad  men ;  men  who  live  by  extorting  money  from  the 
poor  people.  We  want  none  of  them.  We  will  take 
time  to  consider  the  matter."  The  assembly  was  then 
dismissed,  and  the  clergy  went  away  in  disgrace.     As 


114  REMOVAL    OF    THE    PATRIARCH. 

they  passed  through  the  crowd,  remarks  like  the  follow- 
ing were  heard  from  the  lips  of  the  people  :  "  There  go 
our  oppressors  !"  Whoever  goes  with  them  goes  to 
destruction  !"  "  Let  no  man  step  his  foot  again  in  the 
Armenian  Church,  on  the  peril  of  his  salvation,  so  long  as 
these  men  are  there  !"  "  Behold  the  deceivers  and  robbers 
of  the  people  !"  For  some  days  afterwards,  the  wickedness 
of  the  clergy  was  a  subject  of  universal  remark.  Many 
said,  "  We  thought  that  Stepan,  our  present  Patriarch,  was 
one  of  the  best  of  them  ;  and  we  called  him  a  dove,  but 
he  has  proved  to  be  a  raven.  He  has  betrayed  his  people 
into  the  hands  of  the  Mohammedans  !  If  he  is  the  best, 
what  must  the  others  be  ?" 

This  struggle  continued  for  several  months,  each  party 
alternately  triumphing,  and  succumbing,  until  at  last  a 
peremptory  order  was  issued  by  the  Sultan,  that  the  bel- 
ligerents should  forthwith  make  peace,  and  that  a  certain 
number  of  men  should  be  regularly  chosen,  to  be  associ- 
ated with  the  Patriarch  in  administering  the  affairs  of  the 
community.  Subsequently  it  was  arranged  that  two 
committees  should  be  appointed,  one  for  ecclesiastical, 
and  the  other  for  secular  matters,  and  the  Patriarch  be 
the  chairman  of  each  ;  and  this  order  of  things  still 
prevails. 

The  Patriarch,  Stepan,  was  soon  removed  from  office, 
and  as  the  people  and  bankers  could  not  agree  upon  any 
of  the  prominent  candidates,  they  selected  an  obscure  old 
bishop,  by  the  name  of  Asduadzadur,  who  had  always 
been  an  eccentric  character,  and  was  now  in  his  dotage. 
This  also  was  so  overruled  as  to  work  mightily  for  the 
spread  of  the  truth  in  the  land.  Such  was  the  peculiar 
oddity  and  capriciousness  of  this  man,  that  nobody  wished 


INCREASE  OF  THE  CHURCH.  115 

to  go  to  the  patriarchate  for  any  purpose,  except  through 
dire  necessity.  Everybody  seemed  to  feel  that  the  less 
they  had  to  do  with  their  Patriarch  the  better.  And  when 
anything  was  said  about  the  need  of  adopting  rigorous 
measures  to  check  the  spread  of  Protestantism,  the  reply 
usually  was,  "  What  does  that  concern  us  ?  Let  every 
man  do  as  he  likes." 

The  Yicar  of  the  new  Patriarch  was  one  of  those 
exiled  for  Protestantism,  in  the  year  1839.  Pie  was  for- 
merly acting  bishop  at  Trebizond,  and  there  became 
pretty  thoroughly  enlightened  as  to  the  errors  of  his 
Church.  His  exaltation  to  the  office  of  Patriarch's  Vicar, 
w^as  as  unexpected  to  him  as  it  was  to  us,  and  to  the 
evangelical  brethren  generally  ;  and  that  also  was  of  God. 
Only  a  short  time  previous  he  had  applied  to  the  mission 
for  employment  in  the  book-making  department. 

The  brethren  were  still  exempt  from  persecution, 
though  they  did  not  rest  from  prayer  and  labor.  They 
walked  "  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  and  in  the  comfort  of  the 
Holy  G-host,"  and  •'  were  multiplied."  It  was  a  period 
of  quiet  and  steady  increase  to  the  church.  The  wrath 
and  strife  of  God's  enemies  had  hitherto  been  constantly 
overruled  so  as  to  prove  the  most  effectual  means  of 
spreading  the  kingdom  and  glory  of  Christ ;  now,  the 
same  blessed  and  glorious  w^ork  went  on  with  equal  pros- 
perity, through  the  blessing  df  God  on  the  quiet  though 
active  labors  of  his  servants,  in  a  time  of  external  repose. 
In  the  spring  of  1842,  one  of  the  missionaries  wrote  as 
follows:  *' I. think  we  have  never  before  seen  the  time 
when  the  prospects  of  good  among  the  Armenians  were 
so  flattering  as  at  present.  The  truth  is  branching  forth 
in  all  directions,  and  apparently  taking  deep  root,  so  that 


il6  SPfRITUALITY. 

if  all  the  missionaries  should  this  moment  be  sent  out  of 
the  country,  still  there  would  remain  not  only  much  seed 
sown,  but  also  many  firmly-rooted  plants  actually  sprung 
up,  and  in  different  stages  of  maturity,  from  the  blade  to 
the  ear,  and  the  full  corn  in  the  ear."  There  was  among 
the  native  brethren,  a  very  perceptible  and  delightful 
increase  of  spirituality  of  mind,  and,  what  was  a  particu- 
larly noticeable  characteristic  of  the  times,  an  extraordi- 
nary spirit  of  prayer.  Prompted  wholly  by  their  own 
feelings,  they  often  assembled  in  small  circles  to  ask  for 
God's  blessing  on  the  means  of  grace ;  and  often,  after 
sermon  on  the  Sabbath,  would  several  of  them  remain,  in 
order  to  have  a  season  of  social  prayer.  If  they  found 
any  individual  in  the  congregation  giving  indications  of 
special  seriousness,  they  did  not  fail  to  stop,  and  converse 
and  pray  with  him.  Three  pious  young  men  were  pre- 
sent one  Sabbath  at  the  religious  services  in  the  seminary 
at  Bebek  ;  and  being  left  alone  for  a  short  time,  Mr. 
Hamlin  found  that  they  had  closed  the  doors,  and  were 
engaged  in  prayer.  They  afterwards  remarked,  that  this 
was  probably  the  only  seminary  for  Armenians  in  the 
whole  world,  where  such  truths  as  they  had  that  day" 
heard,  were  taught  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  and  that  the 
hopes  and  expectations  of  all  the  evangelical  brethren  were 
strongly  placed  upon  it,  and  that,  consequently,  they  ought 
to  offer  unceasing  prayer  for  the  Spirit  of  Grod,  to  make  the 
truth  effectual.  Mr.  Hamlin  remarked,  in  connection 
with  this  incident,  "During  the  summer,  I  have  had 
much  intercourse  with  native  brethren,  and  it  seems  to 
me  that  the  spirit  of  grace  and  supplication  has,  indeed, 
been  poured  out  upon  them."  This  w^as  farther  manifest 
from  the  fact,  that  they  rarely  called  at  the  house  of  a 


PRAYER.  117 

missionary  without  proposing  to  have  a  season  of  prayer 
together  before  separating. 

The  usual  burden  of  the  prayers  offered  at  this  time 
was,  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  even  as  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  and  the  salvation  of  their  fellow  coun- 
trymen ;  and  they  rarely  failed  to  make  special  mention 
of  the  ecclesiastical  rulers  of  their  nation,  and,  particu- 
larly, of  their  enemies  and  persecutors. 

From  what  has  now  been  stated,  the  reader  will  not  be 
surprised  to  learn  that  a  greater  amount  of  spiritual  in- 
fluences was  enjoyed  during  the  year  1842,  than  in  any 
previous  year  since  the  establishment  of  the  mission.  The 
whole  city  of  Constantinople  was  filled  with  rumors  of 
what  were  called  "  the  new  doctrines,"  and  they  formed 
the  topics  of  discussion  in  almost  all  assemblies  of  Arme- 
nians. The  minds  of  some  were  wonderfully  wrought 
upon  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  thoughtless  and  gay  be- 
came sober  and  prayerful ;  the  worldly  became  spiritually 
minded  ;  the  proud  became  meek  and  lowly ;  opposers 
and  persecutors  were  disarmed,  and  a  few  were  trans- 
formed into  decided  friends  and  helpers.  The  work  was 
evidently  of  Grod. 

A  priest  of  venerable  appearance  called  upon  Mr.  Ham- 
lin, and  was  so  deeply  agitated  in  view  of  his  own  lost 
condition,  and  through  fear  of  leading  his  people  to  de- 
struction by  seeming  to  uphold  the  errors  of  his  Church, 
that,  although  it  was  a  cold  day,  the  perspiration  stood 
in  thick  and  heavy  drops  over  his  whole  face. 

A  vartabed  from  the  interior,  came  trembling,  to  some 
of  our  brethren,  and  begged  to  know  what  he  must  do  to 
be  saved.  For  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  was  sensible 
that  he  was  a  lost  sinner,  and  although  he  had  for  years 


118  A    VARTABED    CONVICTED. 

been  acting  as  spiritual  guide  to  the  Church,  yet  now 
that  his  eyes  were  opened  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  see  his 
true  condition,  he  felt  that  he  knew  nothing  of  religion, 
and  was  willing  to  seek  counsel  and  direction  from  even 
the  most  illiterate  of  the  people,  who  had  learned  the 
gospel  way  of  salvation.  Nor  did  he  seek  in  vain.  The 
brethren  to  whom  he  applied,  told  him  that  there  was 
only  one  way  of  salvation  for  priests  and  people.  "  Be- 
lieve on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved," 
was  the  substance  of  the  apostolic  direction  to  inquiring 
sinners,  and  they  could  say  neither  more  nor  less  to  him. 
And  by  the  grace  of  Grod,  he  was  enabled  to  accept  of 
Christ  as  his  only  and  all-sufficient  Saviour,  and  to  con- 
secrate the  remnant  of  his  days  to  his  service.  This  was 
Bedros,  vartabed,  whose  name  will  appear  again  in  the 
course  of  this  narrative. 

A  Papal  Armenian,  who,  for  years,  had  been  wandering 
about  the  country  in  search  of  peace  of  mind,  was  in- 
duced to  visit  Mr.  Hamlin  about  this  time.  His  case 
was  one  of  a  class.  There  is  no  provision  for  securing  peace 
to  a  really  awakened  conscience,  in  either  the  Roman  or 
the  Oriental  Churches.  The  consequence  is,  that  some  in- 
dividuals are  always  to  be  found,  who  wander  to  and  fro, 
through  the  earth,  seeking  rest,  and  generally,  alas !  they 
find  none ;  for  they  find  not  him  who  has  promised,  and 
who  only  is  able  to  give  rest.  The  individual  in  ques- 
tion made  himself  an  inmate  of  a  monastery,  far  in  the 
interior  of  the  country,  and  undertook  the  performance  of 
the  most  menial  services  for  the  monks,  hoping  thereby 
to  accumulate  merit,  and  pacify,  in  some  measure,  the 
clamors  of  conscience.  Failing  in  this,  he  penetrated 
into  the  depths  of  a  wilderness,  clothed  himself  in  sack- 


AN    ASCETIC    CON\ERTED    TO    CHRIST.  119 

cloth,  and  lived  on  the  coarsest  fare,  far  away  from  the 
abodes  of  man,  thinking  in  this  way  to  get  rid  of  the 
wicked  world  and  his  feverish  and  restless  heart,  both 
together.  Here  also  he  was  disappointed.  Up  to  this 
time  he  was  a  member  of  the  Armenian  Church.  He 
now  resolved  that  he  would  return  to  Constantinople,  the 
place  of  his  birth,  and  unite  himself  with  the  Papal  Ar- 
menians, hoping  in  their  communion  to  find  ''  the  bliss 
for  which  he  sighed."  He  became  chief  singer  in  one  of 
the  churches  near  the  capital,  and  was  endeavoring  to 
draw  comfort  from  the  strictest  attention  to  the  forms  of 
Romish  worship,  when  he  was  advised  by  a  friend  to 
visit  the  American  missionaries.  His  soul  recoiled  at  the 
thought.  He  had  heard  of  us  only  as  being  heretics  and 
enemies  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  he  could  not  think  of 
having  any  intercourse  w^ith  such  characters.  He  was  at 
length  persuaded,  however,  and  ventured,  hesitatingly, 
to  accompany  some  friends  to  Mr.  Hamlin's  house.  At 
first,  he  took  his  seat  near  the  door^  as  if  to  keep  as  far  as 
possible  from  pollution,  and  secure  his  retreat  in  case  of 
need  ;  and  he  listened  in  suspicious  silence  to  the  conver- 
sation of  the  others.  Gradually  he  acquired  courage  to 
propose  such  questions  as  would  involve  controversy,  and 
with  great  self-confidence,  he  assumed  the  advocacy  of 
some  of  the  worst  errors  of  popery.  But  he  soon  received 
a  check  from  which  he  could  not  recover.  His  mind  was 
too  honest  and  reverential  not  to  feel  and  acknowledge  a 
Bible  argument,  although  hitherto  he  had  paid  bat  little 
attention  to  that  book.  From  being  a  self-opinionated 
and  dictatorial  advocate  of  error,  he  soon  became  a  silent 
and  deeply  attentive  listener  to  the  truth.  He  gra- 
dually-efcanged   his  position,  as  his  mind  became  more 


120  VISITS    AT    THE    KHAN. 

and  more  interested,  drawing  his  chair  nearer  and  nearer 
to  his  newly-found  teacher,  until,  at  length,  he  seated 
himself  on  the  floor,  literally  at  the  very  feet  of  Mr. 
Hamlin,  and  with  eyes  intently  fixed  upon  the  speaker, 
and  open  mouth,  he  drank  in,  with  mute  astonishment, 
those  truths  of  eternal  import,  which,  though  he  had 
never  before  heard  them  in  his  life,  he  was  now  perfectly 
convinced  were  the  only  sure  foundation  of  that  peace 
of  mind,  which  he  had  hitherto  so  fruitlessly  sought.  The 
change  in  this  man^s  whole  character  was  instantaneous, 
and  to  this  day  he  is  a  living  witness  for  the  truth,  and  a 
faithful  laborer  in  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ.  Several 
other  of  the  Papal  Armenians,  who  had  not  been  consi- 
<iered  very  hopeful  as  a  class,  were  awakened  about  the 
same  time,  and  some  appeared  to  be  truly  converted. 

Mr.  Homes  and  myself  alternated  in  visiting  our  room 
in  'the  city  proper,  which  was  opened  twice  a  week,  and 
became  a  place  of  great  resort,  as  well  as  of  intense  in- 
terest. Some  came  with  a  list  of  difficult  passages  of 
Scripture  to  be  explained  ;  others,  with  a  case  of  conscience 
to  be  solved ;  others,  with  inquiries  in  regard  to  the 
prevailing  errors  of  the  Eastern  "c^iurches  ;  others,  with 
some  infidel  objection  they  had  heard  thrown  out,  but 
knew  not  hov/  to  answer  ;  and  others  still,  to  hear  truths 
that  would  make  them  wise  unto  salvation. 

Our  preaching  services  on  the  Sabbath  gradually  in- 
creased in  numbers  and  in  interest,  and  often  individuals 
were  present  from  distant  places  in  the  interior.  Many 
who  thus  heard  the  gospel  scheme  of  salvation,  for  the 
first  time  in  their  lives,  were  the  instruments  of  convey- 
ing the  joyful  tidings  to  remote  towns  and  villages  in 
Armenia^   where  no    preacher  had  ever   penetrated.     In 


riRST    NATIVE    MESSiON.  121 

February  of  1842,  a  week-day  expository  service  in  the 
Turkish  language  was  commenced  by  Mr.  G-oodell,  and 
also  another  on  the  Sabbath.  The  latter  was  held  im- 
mediately after  the  preaching  in  Armenian,  and  was 
usually  attended  by  the  same  audience.  Some  of  the 
Armenians  have  entirely  lost  the  use  of  their  own  lan- 
guage, and  speak  only  the  Turkish,  while  all  are  more  or 
less  familiar  with  this  latter  tongue.  The  monthly  con- 
cert of  prayer,  for  the  conversion  of  the  world,  was  a 
season  of  peculiar  interest.  From  necessity,  the  time  for 
holding  it  in  the  native  languages,  was  fixed  at  near  mid- 
day, on  the  first  Monday  of  each  month,  and  those  who 
attended  were  obliged  to  leave  their  business,  and  walk 
nearly  or  quite  t\^•o  miles.  Sometimes  as  many  as  thirty 
were  present,  all  of  them  adult  males,  as  no  females  at 
that  time  attended  any  of  our  meetings,  and  earnest  and 
importunate  were  the  prayers  that  were  offered  up  for  the 
outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  whole  race  of 
man. 

The  zeal  of  our  Armenian  Christian  brethren,  in  en- 
deavoring to  enlighten  and  reclaim  their  own  country- 
men, whether  far  or  nesfr,  was  one  of  their  most  striking 
characteristics.  Impelled  by  this,  in  the  summer  of  1842, 
several  of  them  met  in  a  retired  spot  among  the  hills  that 
surround  the  capital,  and  after  uniting  in  prayer  for  the 
guidance  and  blessing  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  resolved 
to  send  forth  one  of  their  number,  at  their  own  expense, 
on  a  missionary  tour  among  the  Armenians  in  the  interior 
of  Asia  Minor.  The  individual  selected  for  this  service 
was  priest  Vertanes,  who  readily  accepted  the  call,  and 
soon  proceeded  on  his  way.  It  was  a  tour  attended  with 
many  good  results. 
6 


122  FEMALE    INaUIRERS. 

Nor,  while  caring  for  their  own  "  brethren  and  kindred 
according  to  the  flesh,"  did  they  forget  the  claims  of  other 
races  around  them,  who  were  living  in  ignorance  of  the 
Gospel.  With  the  Jews  especially,  they  had  almost  daily 
conversation  in  reference  to  the  one  only  Saviour,  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  this  was  the  more  remarkable,  since  there 
could  scarcely  be  found  among  the  other  classes  of  peo- 
ple in  Turkey,  any  other  feeling  than  that  of  contempt 
for  the  outcast  children  of  Abraham. 

Among  the  most  encouraging  indications  of  the  present 
time,  was  a  very  marked  increase  of  interest  in  religious 
inquiry  among  the  females.  Hitherto  the  important  ele- 
ment of  female  influence  had  been  in  a  great  measure 
wanting  in  the  reformation.  The  cause  of  this  was  two- 
fold ;  first,  the  extreme  ignorance  and  consequent  bigotry 
of  the  female  portion  of  the  population,  there  never  hav- 
ing been  the  least  provision  for  their  education ;  and 
secondly,  the  difficulty  of  our  getting  access  to  them,  and 
of  their  availing  themselves,  even  when  disposed,  of  the 
privileges  of  the  Grospel,  owing  to  the  peculiar  customs  of 
society  in  the  East,  respecting  the  seclusion  of  women. 
The  priests  of  the  Church,  from  their  official  character  as 
confessors,  have  free  access  to  the  females  of  the  commu- 
nity ;  and  they  being  always,  of  necessity,  married  men, 
no  difficulty  is  felt  in  regard  to  it.  Our  pious  priests  were 
not  backward  in  availing  themselves  of  this  privilege,  and 
chiefly  through  their  instrumentality,  in  the  years  1842 
.'  nd  184e3,  several  of  the  Armenian  females  became  deeply 
mterested  in  religious  concerns,  and  some  few  gave  evi- 
dence of  being  truly  converted.  From  that  time  they 
began  to  form  a  part  of  our  regular  visitors,  and  the  way 
of  access  among  them  became  more  and  more  open.     Some 


m.' 


EXTENSIVE  DEMAND  FOR  BOOKS.  123 

few  became  regular  attendants  at  the  preaching  service 
in  the  Seminary.  About  the  same  time  I  opened  a  week- 
day preaching  service  in  Armenian,  exclusively  for  fe- 
males ;  and  although  few  attended  at  first,  yet  it  was  evi- 
dently productive  of  some  immediate  good,  besides  being 
an  important  means  of  throwing  open  to  Christian  culture 
this  important  part  of  our  missionary  field. 

Many  persons  of  both  sexes,  were  convinced  of  the  truth 
of  the  evangelical  doctrines,  who  from  prudential  conside- 
rations, had  never  visited  any  of  the  missionaries  or  at- 
tended their  preaching ;  and  some  of  these  were  actively 
though  quietly  laboring  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  the 
true  and  only  way  of  salvation.  Some  of  these  had  been 
awakened  by  the  simple  perusal  of  our  books,  and  others 
through  the  instrumentality  of  our  native  brethren. 

The  distribution  of  the  publications  of  our  press  be- 
came an  important  branch  of  labor,  and  quite  sufficient 
to  occupy  the  best  part  of  one  man's  time.  Mr.  Homes 
was  designated  to  this  particular  work,  and  he  soon  found 
that  in  connection  with  his  other  labors,  he  was  fully  and 
most  usefully  employed.  There  was  a  constantly  increas- 
ing demand  for  books,  so  that  by  the  spring  of  1843,  it 
was  impossible  to  procure  a  supply  from  our  press  and 
bindery  in  Smyrna,  with  the  limited  funds  we  had,  to 
meet  seasonably  all  the  orders  that  came  in.  More  than 
twice  as  many  of  our  publications  were  put  in  circulation 
in  Constantinople  in  1842,  as  had  been  sold  during  any  pre- 
vious year  ;  and  the  amount  of  receipts  for  books  sold  was 
$550.  Eight  or  ten  booksellers  at  the  capital  were  kept 
constantly  supplied,  and  the  products  of  our  press  were 
also  sent  to  almost  every  part  of  the  interior,  even  into 
Russia,  G-eorgia,  and  Persia.     An  Armenian  archbishop 


i24  TRANSLATION  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  COMPLETED. 

near  Odessa,  on  receiving  some  of  these,  expressed  the 
greatest  joy ;  and  he  remarked  that  they  ought  to  be 
grateful  towards  those  who  were  engaged  in  preparing 
such  excellent  books  for  their  countrymen.  All  this  was 
very  remarkable  in  view  of  the  fact  that  only  three  years 
before,  the  people  were  most  stringently  forbidden,  by  two 
Patriarchal  bulls,  under  pain  of  anathema,  to  receive  or 
read  anything  that  emanated  from  the  press  of  the  Ame- 
rican missionaries ! 

The  evangelical  brethren  were  very  active  in  this  de- 
partment, and  repeatedly  was  it  noticed,  that  some  who 
could  illy  afford  it,  purchased  tracts  and  volumes  to  dis- 
tribute gratuitously  to  those  who  would  read  them.  One 
of  the  first  bankers  in  the  metropolis,  on  a  certain  occa- 
sion, having  at  his  house  for  a  few  days,  a  primate  of  a 
town  in  the  interior,  induced  his  guest  to  take  with  him 
a  quantity  of  our  publications  on  his  return  home,  for 
distribution  among  the  people. 

At  Brusa  and  Trebizond,  the  distribution  of  books  was 
also  more  active  than  ever  before  ;  and  many  were  sent  by 
native  agents  into  the  interior  of  the  country. 

More  than  forty-four  thousand  volumes  and  tracts  were 
issued  from  the  Smyrna  depot  to  the  different  stations, 
during  the  year  1842,  nineteen  thousand  of  which  were 
in  the  Armenian  or  the  Armeno-Turkish  languages,  there 
being  about  forty  different  works. 

The  translation  of  the  whole  Old  Testament  into  the 
Armeno-Turkish  language,  to  which  Mr.  Groodell  had  de- 
voted his  undivided  attention  and  strength  for  many 
years,  was  happily  completed  on  the  6th  of  November, 
1841,  and  was  published  at  Smyrna,  in  the  spring  of 
1842  J  and  before  the  end  of  the  following  winter,  the  re- 


LOVE    OF    THE    BIBLE.  125 

vision  of  the  New  Testament  in  the  same  language 
was  also  finished  by  Mr,  G-oodell,  and  the  translation 
published.  It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  value  of  this 
work  to  the  reformation  ;  and  by  its  side  may  be  placed 
an  edition  of  the  New  Testament  in  the  modern  Arme- 
nian, published  about  the  same  time  in  Smyrna,  as  re- 
vised by  Mr.  Adger.  The  expense  of  the  latter  work  was 
defrayed  by  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  while 
that  of  the  former  came  from  the  American  Bible  So- 
ciety. 

One  of  the  most  striking  traits  of  the  reformed  Arme- 
nians was,  their  reverence  and  love  of  the  Word  of  Grod. 
Some  have  been  known  to  sit  up  all  night  to  read  and 
study  the  Bible,  when  it  was  first  furnished  to  them  in 
an  intelligible  language  ;  and  the  prevailing  desire  of  all 
seemed  to  be,  to  understand  what  G-od  teaches  through 
his  Word,  and  to  conform  their  belief  and  practice  wholly 
to  his  teachings.  An  Armenian  of  great  repute  as  a 
man,  and  who  was  regarded  by  the  common  people  as  an 
oracle  in  religious  matters,  though  a  self-conceited 
sophist,  and  an  opposer  of  the  evangelical  system,  said 
one  day  to  one  of  our  plain  and  honest  brethren,  ''  Why 
do  you,  who  are  ignorant,  have  so  much  to  say  about  the 
Bible,  when  even  the  most  wise  and  learned  men  in  the 
world  are  not  agreed  about  it,  and  are  neither  able  to  un- 
derstand nor  explain  it?"  "Ah!"  replied  the  other, 
"  this  book  is  for  just  such  an  ignorant  man  as  I  am.  It 
was  never  designed  for  those  who  desire  to  comprehend 
it  by  human  wisdom,  but  it  was  designed  expressly  for 
me  who  am  so  ignorant.  It  is  emphatically  my  book," 
said  he,  clasping  it  to  his  bosom,  "  and  through  the  aid 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  I,  in  my  ignorance  am  enabled  to  un- 


126  ENEMIES    MADE    FRIENDS. 

derstand  it.  But  it  was  not  intended  for  the  worldly- 
wise,  such  as  you  profess  to  be,  depend  upon  it ;  and  you, 
in  your  wisdom,  can  never  comprehend  it.  Until  you 
renounce  your  self-sufficiency,  and  feel  that  you  are 
really  ignorant,  you  will  never  be  able  rightly  to  under- 
stand the  Word  of  God." 

This  same,  so  called,  learned  man,  published  this  year 
a  book  against  Protestantism,  got  up,  it  was  said,  under 
the  direction,  and  at  the  expense  of  the  Jesuits.  This 
was  the  first  work  of  the  kind  that  appeared,  though  not 
the  last,  as  will  be  seen.  The  Vicar  of  the  Patriarch  did 
not  hesitate  to  condemn  the  policy  of  publishing  such  a 
book,  even  in  the  presence  of  many  witnesses.  Said  he, 
"  It  cannot  be  denied  that  we  have  errors  and  superstitions 
in  our  Church,  which  we  would  gladly  exclude,  if  it  were 
not  for  the  ignorance  and  prejudice  of  the  common 
people.  Now  the  effect  of  this  book  will  naturally  be,  to 
bring  a  reply  from  the  Protestant  missionaries,  and  they 
will  expose  many  of  the  deformities  of  our  Church  which 
had  better  be  left  alone." 

Our  seminary  still  survived  all  the  shocks  it  received 
from  the  jealousy  and  hatred  of  its  enemies.  For  several 
months  the  most  vigorous  efforts  were  made  by  bankers, 
priests,  vartabeds,  and  bishops,  especially  those  who  were 
endeavoring  to  uphold  the  Scutary  College,  to  crush  our 
institution  ;  when  lo !  the  Solitary  College  was  closed  in 
spite  of  all  their  efforts,  and  ours  still  Ijved  and  flour- 
ished I  Even  some  of  its  bitterest  enemies  were  made 
"to  be  at  peace  with  it."  A  man  who,  as  Vicar  of  the 
Patriarch,  showed  the  utmost  hostility,  on  being  removed 
from  office,  sent  his  own  secretary  as  one  of  our  scholars. 
The   inhabitants  of  the   village   of  Bebek,  who,  at  first, 


USEFULNESS  OF  THE  SEMINARY.  1?,7 

tried  to  destroy  the  seminary,  became  its  warmest  friends. 
Even  the  priest  himself,  who  made  such  startling  accusa- 
tions to  the  Patriarch  against  Mr.  Hamlin,  when  the 
latter  first  moved  into  Bebek,  at  length  confessed  that  he 
had  acted  hastily  on  misinformation,  and  placed  his  own 
son  at  the  school. 

The  Rev.  Gr.  W.  "Wood,  who  arrived  at  Constantinople 
with  his  wife,  in  the  summer  of  1842,  was  associated 
with  Mr.  Hamlin  in  the  instruction  of  the  seminary,  the 
number  of  scholars  being  twenty-five,  all  of  whom 
boarded  in  the  establishment.  Besides  the  incalculably 
important  bearing  of  such  an  institution  on  the  cause  of 
evangelical  religion  in  Turkey,  it  proved  itself  to  be 
highly  useful  also  as  an  object  of  attraction  to  visitors, 
drawing  them  within  the  sound  of  the  gospel,  and  those 
too,  often  of  a  class  that  could  not  be  induced  to  go  to 
the  private  house  of  a  missionary.  The  seminary,  in  this 
way,  became,  not  merely  an  educational  institution,  but 
a  center  of  evangelical  influences,  spreading  themselves 
abroad  far  and  wide  in  the  land.  The  average  number 
of  visitors  on  week  days  was,  at  one  time,  six  a  day,  and 
on  Sabbath  days  twice  that  number,  the  latter  coming 
generally  to  attend  the  service.  These  visitors  were 
not  merely  from  Constantinople,  but  also  from  many 
places  in  the  interior,  near  and  remote,  who  came  to  the 
capital  on  business.  Sometimes  there  were  as  many  as 
fifteen  or  twenty  persons  from  without,  present  at  the 
preaching  on  the  Sabbath,  several  of  whom  were  females. 

Two  of  those  who  were  numbered  with  the  converted 
brethren,  and  with  whom  we  had  often  taken  sweet 
counsel,  and  concerning  whom  we  had  hoped  better 
things,  in  tJie  autumn   of  1842  became  disaffected,  and 


128  NEW    INaUIRERS    AT    BRUSA. 

walked  no  more  with  us.  Ever  since  the  persecution  in 
1839,  tliey  had  shown  uncommon  timidity,  and  it  became 
more  and  more  obvious  that  they  were  more  anxious  to 
find  some  powerful  human  protection  as  a  security 
against  persecution,  and  an  encouragement  openly  and 
fearlessly  to  profess  Christ  before  men,  than  they  were 
ready  to  trust  implicitly  the  naked  promises  of  Grod.  And 
thus  forsaking  God,  he  also  forsook  them,  and,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course,  they  fell.  "We  are  not  without  our  hope 
that  they  may  yet  rise  again.  The  occasion  of  their  dis- 
affection must  also  be  stated.  It  was  a  paragraph  or  two 
in  the  Missionary  Herald  respecting  the  probability  and 
desirableness,  under  certain  circumstances,  of  a  separa- 
tion of  the  evans^elical  brethren  from  the  Armenian 
Church  ;  and  Mr.  Southgate,  (afterwards  bishop)  of  the 
American  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  first  directed 
their  attention  to  the  article,  and  translated  the  para- 
graphs alluded  to  for  them,  neither  of  them  being  ac- 
quainted with  the  English  language. 

The  preaching  at  Brusa  continued  to  attract  attention, 
and  as  many  as  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  different  in- 
dividuals had  attended  it.  A  priest  there  was  very  much 
awakened  in  his  mind,  so  that  he  came  three  or  four 
times  a  week  to  converse  with  Mr.  Serope,  the  pious 
teacher.  Nor  was  he  alone.  Another  priest  was  also  in 
the  habit  of  visiting  Mr.  S.  occasionally  on  a  similar 
errand  ;  and  two  other  exceedingly  interesting  inquirers 
became  known  to  the  mission  about  this  time.  One  of 
them  was  by  trade  a  picture-maker  for  the  Church,  and 
he  soon  resolved  that  he  would  relinquish  this  employ- 
ment, which  depended  upon  idolatry  for  its  support,  and 
procure  his  livelihood  in  some  more  honest  way.     The 


ARRIVAL    OF    MR.    LADD.  129 

other  was  a  traveller,  a  native  of  Erivan,  near  Mount 
Ararat,  and  he  carried  with  him,  to  that  distant  place, 
very  different  views  of  the  truth,  and  the  way  of  salva- 
tion through  Jesus  Christ,  from  those  with  which  he 
came.  There  were  also  two  or  three  priests  in  the 
villages  adjacent  to  Brusa,  who  seemed  to  be  sincerely 
inquiring  after  the  way  of  salvation.  It  was  a  circum- 
stance of  no  small  interest,  that  two  young  men  of  Brusa 
were  employed  as  teachers  of  village  schools,  supported 
by  the  people  themselves  ;  one  of  whom  was  hopefully 
pious,  and  the  other  very  serious-minded,  if  not  truly 
converted.  They  were  exerting  a  decidedly  Christian 
influence,  both  in  their  schools,  and  among  the  people 
around. 

The  Rev.  D.  Ladd  and  wife  arrived  in  Brusa  in  Sep- 
tember, 1842,  and  thus  Mr.  Schneider  was  more  at 
liberty  to  go  on  preaching  excursions  in  the  vicinity, 
which  he  did  from  time  to  time  with  very  considerable 
encouragement. 

A  newly-appointed  bishop  arrived  in  this  town,  and 
soon  began  to  show  signs  of  opposition  to  the  work  of 
reform.  He  peremptorily  ordered  the  two  teachers  to 
cease  from  all  intercourse  with  the  missionaries,  saying, 
"  They  are  infidels  ;  they  neither  believe  in  the  interces- 
sion of  the  saints,  nor  the  perpetual  virginity  of  the  Holy 
Mother  of  Grod,  nor  in  the  real  presence  of  the  body  and 
blood  in  the  eucharist,"  &c.,  &c.  He  also  forbade  the 
people  to  read  the  publications  from  our  press.  All  his 
opposition,  however,  being  expended  in  words,  little  or  no 
attention  was  paid  to  it. 

The  influence  of  the  Trebizond  station  had  been  consi- 
derable, although,  as  yet  a  large  number  of  conversions 
6* 


130  EVANGELICAL    INFLKEXCE/.     AT    TREDIZOND. 

could  not  be  reported.  Out  of  twenty-five  or  thirty 
who  were  frequent  attendants  at  the  preaching  on  the 
Sabbath,  two  gave  the  most  satisfactory  evidence  of 
piety,  and  five  or  six  more  were  in  a  very  hopeful  state 
of  mind ;  while  of  all  it  could  be  said  that  they  were  in- 
terested hearers  of  the  Word  of  Grod.  It  was  a  remark- 
able fact,  that,  in  the  local  synod  of  the  Armenian 
community  in  that  town,  consisting  of  six  individuals, 
two  were  friendly  to  the  mission  ;  and  so  were  all  the 
priests  except  one.  A  priest  from  a  neighboring  village, 
who  was  teaching  an  important  school,  appeared  to  be 
quite  enlightened,  and  was  using  his  influence  to  dis- 
seminate the  Word  of  G-od.  Some  individuals  suffered 
under  the  persecution  of  their  relatives,  but  the  Lord 
frustrated  all  attempts  to  engage  the  civil  power  in  the 
work.  In  the  spring  of  1843,  the  spirit  of  inquiry  began 
more  rapidly  to  spread.  Five  or  six  new  persons  were 
found  searching  the  Scriptures  most  diligently,  and  they 
also  commenced  attending  the  preaching  service.  Oppo- 
sition was,  of  course,  stirred  up  afresh,  and  for  a  few 
Sabbaths,  the  brethren  held  their  meetings  in  the  fields, 
to  avoid  observation. 

At  Erzrum  also,  some  of  the  priests  began  to  show  a 
dissatisfaction  with  their  religious  system,  and  a  desire  for 
something  better.  One  of  these  was  quite  disposed  to  do 
good  to  his  people,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  exhort  them  to 
live  according  to  the  gospel.  The  Rev.  J.  Peabody,  who 
arrived  there  with  his  wife  during  the  summer  of  1841, 
furnished  some  interesting  notices  of  interviews  with  this 
individual.  Others  also  among  the  people  were  more  or 
less  interested  in  religious  inquiry.  In  the  beginning  of 
the  year  1843,  there  were,  at  least,  as  many  as  twenty 


VIOLENCE    OF    THE    BISHOP    OF    ERZRUM.  131 

individuals,  who  might  be  ranked  with  this  class.  A 
religions  service,  commenced  by  Mr.  Jackson,  in  October, 
1842,  was  now  attended  by  a  respectable  number.  This 
was  something  new  for  Erzrum,  which  hitherto  had 
seemed  the  most  unpromising  station  connected  with 
the  mission  to  the  Armenians.  Success,  however,  as 
usual,  stimulated  opposition.  The  bishop  was  absent, 
but  some  of  the  primates  began  to  talk  in  threatening 
language  concerning  the  priest,  as  well  as  a  teacher  of 
their  school,  who  was  evangelical,  and  the  young  man 
who  was  employed  by  the  mission  as  assistant.  The 
bishop  was  warned  by  letter,  of  the  spread  of  Protest- 
antism, and  this  hastened  his  return.  The  G-reeks  and 
Papists  contributed  to  increase  the  excitement.  The 
bishop  summoned  the  assistant  of  the  mission  before  him, 
and  peremptorily  ordered  him  to  leave  the  town  within 
four  days,  which  order,  however,  was  not  obeyed.  Next, 
he  publicly  denounced  the  missionaries  in  the  church, 
and  forbade  all  intercourse  with  them.  After  a  while,  he 
sent  for  the  poor  priest,  who  had  already  been  deprived 
of  his  priestly  robes,  that  is,  suspended  from  office  ;  and, 
after  grossly  abusing  him,  ordered  him  to  be  bound  in  his 
presence,  and  bastinadoed.  No  one  of  his  attendants 
being  willing  to  perform  this  outrage  upon  a  priest,  the 
angry  bishop  proceeded  to  inflict  the  cruel  chastisement 
with  his  own  hands.  The  sufferer  counted  twenty-five 
blows^  and  then  swooned  away,  and,  of  course,  was 
unable  to  count  any  farther.  In  this  situation,  he  was 
bound  with  a  chain  and  thrown  into  prison,  where  he 
remained  until  morning ;  when,  through  the  interposition 
of  some  of  his  friends,  he  was  released.  The  next  day 
he  had  the  boldness  to  tell  the  bishop,  in  the  presence  of 


132       ENEMIES    TURNED    TO    FRIENDS    AT    ADABAZAR. 

several  witnesses,  that  he  should  continue  to  read  and 
teach  the  Gospel,  notwithstanding  the  cruel  treatment  he 
had  received. 

His  case  was  rendered  the  more  painful,  from  the  fact 
that  this  same  bishop  was  once  a  serious  inquirer  after 
the  truth,  and  even  suffered  persecution  himself,  as  a  Pro- 
testant. He  was  one  of  the  exiles  under  Hagopos  Patri- 
arch, in  1839,  and  as  the  seeds  of  the  truth  had  not  taken 
deep  root  in  his  heart,  that  punishment  easily  accom- 
plished the  desired  object.  Ever  since  he  was  restored  to 
power,  he  has  shown  a  more  inveterate  hatred  of  Protest- 
antism, and  a  more  bitter  and  violent  spirit  of  persecution 
than  almost  any  other  ecclesiastic  in  the  country.  Truly 
his  last  state  is  worse  than  the  first. 

The  Providence  of  God  wonderfully  favored  the  breth- 
ren in  Adabazar.  In  the  spring  of  1842,  the  vartabed 
gave  them  formal  permission  to  meet  every  Sabbath  day, 
in  a  private  house,  for  prayer  and  reading  the  Scriptures  ; 
and  there  were  usually  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  present. 
Enemies  they  still  had,  however,  who  were  always 
watchful  for  opportunities  of  thwarting  and  distressing 
them.  A  visit  from  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  in  the 
spring  of  1843,  seemed  to  offer  such  an  opportunity. 
This  dignitary  was  the  ex-patriarch  Stepan.  It  was  re- 
presented to  him  that  a  new  sect  had  sprung  up  among 
them,  w^hich  had  embraced  very  strange  and  heretical  no- 
tions, and  was  spreading  its  poison  in  all  directions.  He 
took  down  the  names  of  the  leading  men  of  this  so-called 
sect,  whom  he  afterwards  summoned  before  him,  and 
asked  them  to  give  an  account  of  themselves.  They  re- 
plied that  they  had  not  separated  themselves  from  the 
Armenian  Church,  but  that  they  received  the  Scriptures  as 


NEW    IMPTTLSE    AT    NICOMEDIA.  133 

the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice  ;  that  they  tried  to 
%.keep  holy  the  Sabbath  Jay  ;  that  they  endeavored  to  refrain 
**  from  lying,  swearing,  and  blasphemy,  and  in  all  things  to 
follow  strictly  the  rules  of  Christ.  The  bishop,  after 
questioning  them  still  further,  for  his  own  satisfaction, 
decided  that  there  was  no  fault  in  them  at  all,  "  as 
touching  those  things  whereof  they  were  accused." 
"  What  you  are  endeavoring  to  do,"  said  he,  ''  is  very 
well.  Would  that  all  in  our  Church  might  do  the  same. 
Return  to  your  homes,  and  continue  to  go  on  in  the  same 
good  way."  Another  party  of  opposers  came  afterwards, 
with  similar  accusations  against  the  Protestants  ;  when 
the  bishop  asked,  "  What  is  the  crime  ?"  "  Why,"  said 
the  men,  "  they  do  nothing  but  read  the  New  Testament 
and  pray."  "  What  !"  said  the  bishop,  read  the  New 
Testament !  Is  not  that  the  only  ground  of  our  faith  ? 
Do  we  not  all  receive  it  ?  And  have  we  any  other  rule  ? 
Happy  would  it  be  if  all  of  you  were  like  them  in  this 
respect." 

In  Nicomedia  there  had  been  a  mournful  want  of  pro- 
gress for  some  months,  but  during  the  summer  of  1842, 
a  new  impulse  was  given  to  the  work.  One  of  the  evi- 
dences and  fruits  of  this  was  found  in  a  weekly  prayer 
meeting,  which  had  been  attended  by  only  six  or  eight 
individuals,  but  suddenly  increased  so  as  to  number  from 
forty  to  fifty.  Many  minds  were  in  an  inquiring  state ; 
and  of  course  Satan's  emissaries  became  very  active. 
Some  of  the  leading  brethren  were  brought  before  the 
bishop  (the  same  who  went  to  Adabazar,)  and  accused  of 
heresy.  The  bishop  examined  the  case  and  made  sub- 
stantially the  same  decision  as  in  the  former  place.  On 
the  next  Sabbath,  he  told  the  people  in  public,  that  there 


134  RELIGIOUS    maUIRY    AT    SMYRNA. 

was  no  occasion  for  any  suspicion  in  regard  to  these  men. 
"  I  have  examined  into  the  matter,"  said  he,  and  I  find 
that  they  are  merely  in  the  habit  of  meeting  together  for 
the  purpose  of  reading  the  Grospel  and  the  Psalms,  which 
is  all  very  good,  and  all  should  do  the  same.  I  have  also 
examined  their  books,  and  I  find  nothing  bad  in  them. 
They  are  good.  Wherefore  you  are  henceforth  to  abstain 
from  meddling  with  these  men,  and  be  at  peace  among 
yourselves."  ^ 

One  of  the  translators  in  Smyrna,  who  had  not  given 
evidence  of  piety,  seemed  to  be  especially  serious,  and 
three  Armenians  from  Kaisery,  who  were  transiently  in 
that  city,  manifested  the  deepest  interest  in  religious  con- 
versation. Thus  the  awakening  influences  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  were  also  felt  in  Smyrna  to  some  extent,  as  in 
almost  every  part  of  the  Armenian  field. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

An  Execution — Story  of  a  Renegade — Insult  to  the  British  Legation — 
Pledge  of  Religious  Liberty — The  Hand  of  Providence — Extent  of  the 
Work  of  Reform — Trials  for  the  Gopel — Spirit  of  Inquiry  spreading — 
Visit  of  Drs.  Anderson  and  Hawes — Abandonment  of  the  Greek  Mission 
— Religious  Influence  of  the  Seminary — Females  awakened — Conversion 
of  a  Nun — Female  Seminary  opened — Patriarch  removed,  and  Matteos 
appointed — Persecution  of  Priest  Vertanes — Character  of  Matteos  Patri- 
arch— His  Policy  towards  the  Protestants — Persecution  resolved  upon — 
Business  interfered  with — Bedros  Vartabed  driven  away — His  Labors 
and  Death — Priest  Vertanes'  Second  Exile — Cruel  Treatment  of  Mr. 
Tateos — Deliverance  from  Imprisonment — Assaults  on  the  Seminary — 
Discussion  and  its  Fruits — Public  Debates — Cogency  of  Stoning — Papal 
Books — Picture  of  a  Jesuit — Colporteurs — Popery  counteracted — Censor- 
ship of  the  Press — Temperance  Society — Happy  Deaths — Death  of  Mrs. 
Van  Lennep. 

In  the  latter  part  of  August,  1S43,  a  small  body  of 
police  guard  was  seen  conducting  with  hurried  steps 
through  the  streets  of  Constantinople,  a  young  man  in 
the  European  dress.  His  arms  were  pinioned  behind 
him,  and  his  face  was  pale  and  anxious.  Arrived  at  a 
place  of  public  concourse,  in  the  midst  of  the  business 
quarter  of  the  city,  they  suddenly  halted  ;  the  prisoner 
was  made  to  kneel  upon  the  pavement ;  an  athletio 
Turk  came  forward,  and  with  one  blow  of  his  yatagan 
severed  the  head  from  the  body.     The  "  superscription  of 


136  STORY    OF    A    RENEGADE. 

his  accusation"  stuck  up  near  the  spot,— for  such  is  still 
the  custom  of  the  East, — specified  that  he  was  "  taken  in 
the  dress  of  an  apostate,"  and  that  his  crime  was  "  apos- 
tasy from  the  true  faith,"  that  is,  Mohammedanism.  A  day 
or  two  after  the  execution,  the  shopkeepers  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  place  where  the  headless  trunk  was  lying, — 
three  days  being  the  customary  period  of  exposure, — peti- 
tioned the  chief  of  the  police  to  have  it  removed  on 
account  of  the  stench.  His  reply  was  prophetic.  "  His 
body  cannot  offend  any  one,  by  its  odor,  earlier  than 
three  days  ;  but  of  this  manh  body  the  loorst  odor  is  yet 
to  come.''''  For  many  days  afterwards,  the  event  excited 
an  unwonted  interest  among  all  classes  of  the  community, 
and  it  was  spoken  of  with  trembling,  and  awe,  and  in 
emphatic  whispers. 

The  history  and  bearings  of  the  case  are  briefly  these. 
The  young  man  who  suffered,  was  an  obscure  individual 
of  the  Armenian  nation  and  religion.  In  an  hour  of 
temptation,  while  under  the  influence  of  alcohol,  it  was 
said  he  abjured  the  faith  of  his  fathers,  and  declared  him- 
self a  Mohammedan.  He  had  not  yet  submitted  to  the 
rite  of  circumcision,  however,  before  he  repented  of  his 
rashness,  and  began  to  meditate  how  he  could  retrace 
liis  steps.  The  penalty  of  apostasy  was  death,  and  of 
course,  he  could  not  remain  in  his  native  city,  and  pro- 
fess again  the  Christian  religion.  He  fled  to  the  neigh- 
boring kingdom  of  G-reece,  and  after  an  absence  of  about 
a  year,  in  his  too  great  impatience  to  see  once  more  his 
widowed  mother,  and  his  friends,  he  returned,  though  in 
the  disguise  oi  a  European  dress.  He  was  soon  recog- 
nized by  a  former  Turkish  acquaintance,  apprehended, 
imprisoned,    and   sentenced    to    decapitation.      At    this 


INSULT    TO    THE    BRITISH    LEGATION.  137 

juncture,  the  British  Ambassador,  Sir  Stratford  Canning, 
impelled  by  motives  of  humanity,  for  which  he  has  ever 
been  justly  distinguished,  made  an  eflfort  to  procure  his 
release.  The  grand  vizir,  after  several  days'  delay,  at 
length  promised  that  the  young  man  should  not  be  be- 
headed. Whether  he  was  insincere  at  the  time,  or  found 
himself  unable  to  persuade  the  imperial  Divan  to  keep 
the  pledge,  is  not  known.  Certain  it  is,  that  both  he 
and  his  colleagues  in  power,  were  of  the  anti-reform 
party,  and  w^ere  endeavoring,  as  much  as  possible,  to 
prevent  innovations,  and  bring  back  the  old  order  of 
things  in  Turkey.  The  young  man  was  put  to  death,  as 
we  have  seen  ;  and,  under  the  existing  circumstances, 
that  very  act  implied  a  public,  and  according  to  the 
ground  taken  by  the  ambassador,  a  double  insult  to  the 
British  legation.  There  was  first,  a  deliberate  violation 
of  a  solemn  promise  ;  and  secondly,  the  execution  of  a 
man  for  embracing  the  Christian  religion,  was  declared 
to  be  an  insult  to  the  established  religion  of  England,  as 
well  as  of  all  Europe.  Sir  Stratford  now  remonstrated  in 
the  strongest  terms  against  such  proceedings,  on  the  part 
of  the  Turkish  government,  and.  insisted  that  no  similar 
act  of  barbarism  and  fanaticism  should  ever  be  permitted 
again  to  occur.  In  this  he  was  said  to  be  warmly 
seconded,  both  by  the  French  and  Prussian  ministers. 
The  grand  vizir,  as  before,  was  ready  to  give  a  pledge 
verbally,  such  as  was  demanded,  but  soon,  a  second  and 
still  more  glaring  act  of  treachery  was  discovered.  A 
Grreek,  in  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor,  had  declared  him- 
self a  Mohammedan,  and  afterwards  refused  to  perform 
the  rites  of  that  religion  ;  and,  at  the  very  time  when  the 
Turkish  minister  was  making  fair  promises  on  the  sub- 


138  PLEDGE    OF    RELIGIOUS    LIBERTY. 

ject  to  the  ambassadors,  he  was  preparing  the  death- 
warrant  for  the  second  renegade,  who  was  immediately 
put  to  death  !  Such  repeated  and  provoking  faithlessness, 
on  the  part  of  the  Turkish  government,  could  no  longer 
be  patiently  endured.  Sir  Stratford  Canning  now  de- 
manded, in  very  peremptory  terms,  that  a  written  pledge 
should  be  given  by  the  Sultan  himself,  (as  his  ministers 
could  no  longer  be  trusted),  that,  hereafter,  no  person 
who  had  embraced  the  Mussulman  religion,  and  after- 
wards returned  to  Christianity,  should,  on  that  account, 
be  put  to  death.  And  he  soon  received  the  most  explicit 
instructions  from  home,  not  to  recede  one  step  from  the 
ground  he  had  assumed.  The  French  minister  and 
government  were  equally  decided  ;  and,  after  some  hesi- 
tancy, even  Russia  threw  the  weight  of  her  influence 
into  the  same  scale.  The  Turks  yielded,  through  neces- 
sity, after  battling  the  point  for  several  weeks,  and  the 
pledge  required  was  given,  signed  by  the  Sultan  himself, 
that  henceforth,  no  person  should  be  persecuted  for 
HIS  religious  opinions  in  Turkey.  So  plainly  was  the 
finger  of  G-od  manifest  in  this  whole  transaction,  that  His 
Excellency  Sir  Stratford  Canning,  afterwards  distinctly 
acknowledged  that  Grod  alone  had  done  it,  and  added,  that 
to  him,  it  seemed  little  less  than  a  miracle. 

No  reference  was  made  by  any  of  the  parties  in  this  case, 
to  the  rights  of  God's  people  in  Turkey,  who  had  already 
long  been  struggling  for  the  privilege  of  believing  and 
worshiping  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own  con- 
sciences. So  far  as  appears,  in  the  mind  of  the  great 
governments  of  Europe,  and  their  representatives  at  the 
Porte,  as  well  as  of  the  Turks  themselves,  the  pledge,  re- 
quired and  conceded,  was  intended  to  apply  only  to  the 


THE    HAND    OF    PROVIDENCE.  139 

comparatively  rare  case  of  a  so  called  Christian,  embrac- 
ing the  Mohammedan  faith,  and  then  returning  to  his 
former  religion.  But  God,  in  moving  these  mighty 
governments  to  take  such  a  stand,  at  that  particular  time, 
and  in  crowning  their  humane  endeavors  with  such  sig- 
nal success,  had  far  higher  ends  to  accomplish.  He  was 
setting  up  his  own  spiritual  kingdom  in  the  land,  and  for 
the  full  carrying  out  of  his  purposes,  his  people  must 
have  freedom  to  worship  him  in  his  own  appointed  way. 
But  if  the  question  for  the  protection  of  Protestantism  in 
Turkey  had  come  up  directly,  what  hope  was  there  that 
Russia  and  France  would  lend  their  influence  to  a  favor- 
able settlement  of  it  ?  On  what  ground  could  England 
even  have  interfered,  authoritatively,  or  by  any  such 
urgency  of  moral  means,  as  would  have  been  effectual 
with  the  Turks  ?  But  through  the  wonder-working  Pro- 
vidence of  G-od,  the  powers  of  all  Europe  were  drawn 
into  combination,  to  demand  from  the  government  of  the 
Sultan,  with  strange  unanimity  and  decision,  a  pledge, 
which  though  not  so  understood  by  themselves  at  the 
time,  actually  secured  to  the  native  Protestant  Christians 
the  full  enjoyment  of  all  their  civil  rights,  while  openly 
cherishing  and  practising  their  own  religion.  The  battle 
for  religious  freedom  in  Turkey,  was  fought  over  the  mu- 
tilated remains  of  that  Armenian  renegade.  Before  this 
comprehensive  meaning  of  the  pledge,  however,  could  be 
fully  understood,  and  an  application  of  it  actually  made 
for  the  relief  of  the  people  of  God,  they  were  destined,  as 
will  be  seen,  to  still  more  grievous  sufferings  for  their 
faith,  than  any  they  had  yet  endured. 

In  May,  1843,  the  Rev.  E.  E.  Bliss  and  wife  arrived  at 
Trebizond,  from  America.     Their  destination,  at  first,  was 


140  EXTENT    OF    THE    WORK    OF    REFORM. 

to  Nestorian  Mountains,  but  it  was  subsequently  decided 
that  they  should  remain  permanently  connected  with  the 
station  at  Trebizond,  to  labor  among  the  Armenians. 

The  work  of  Grod  continued  to  spread,  in  all  directions, 
in  the  Turkish  Empire.  The  number  of  those  who  gave 
evidence  of  a  real  change  of  heart,  was,  as  yet,  compara 
tivcly  small ;  and  so  also  was  the  number  that  came  to 
listen  to  the  stated  preaching  of  the  Grospel.  The  real 
extent  of  the  work,  however,  must  not  be  estimated  from 
this.  A  considerable  number  of  the  Armenian  people, 
both  in  the  metropolis,  and  in  the  provinces,  had  been 
awakened  to  see  the  errors  of  their  Church,  and  were 
fully  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  evangelical  doctrines. 
There  were,  no  doubt,  several  thousands  of  this  class  in 
Constantinople  alone.  Many  of  them  no  missionary  had 
ever  seen,  but  only  the  native  brethren,  and  many  others 
who  had  had  frequent  private  intercourse  with  mission- 
aries, were,  nevertheless,  unwilling  to  come  to  the  public 
services.  The  causes  of  this  were  various.  Some  were 
so  connected  in  business,  that  a  public  avowal  of  Protest- 
antism v/ould  materially  afiect  their  worldly  prospects. 
Others  were  unwilling  to  relinquish  a  post  of  worldly 
honor,  which  such  an  avowal  would  involve.  Others 
could  not  make  up  their  minds  to  endure  the  reproaches 
and  persecutions  of  their  friends.  And  all  felt  sure  that, 
sooner  or  later,  another  storm  of  ecclesiastical  ven2:eance 
w^ould  burst  upon  the  heads  of  those  who  adhered  to  the 
Gospel.  With  such  exposures  and  prospects,  who  can 
wonder  that  men  who  are  not  yet  ready  to  forsake  all  for 
Christ,  should  hesitate  publicly  to  commit  themselves.  In 
every  instance,  an  open  profession  of  obedience  to  Christ, 
rather  than  the  Church,  cost  some  sacrifice,  besides  the 


TRIALS    FOR    THE    GOSPEL.  141 

constant  exposure  it  involved,  to  anathema  and  persecu- 
tion. But,  although  the  mass  of  those  who  were  only 
intellectually  convinced  of  the  truth,  were  deterred  by 
prudential  considerations  from  openly  joining  themselves 
with  the  people  of  God,  yet,  it  is  not  to  be  believed  that 
many  of  them  would  ever  in  reality  go  back  to  their 
former  superstitions.  By  a  comparison  of  these  supersti- 
tions with  the  Word  of  G-od,  they  had  once  proved  them, 
to  their  own  satisfaction,  to  be  a  lie  ;  and  it  is  difficult  to 
see  how  they  could  ever  again  really  believe  them  to  be 
true.  And,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  we  have  seen  that,  in 
circumstances  like  those  in  which  the  Armenians  have 
been  placed,  the  mind  does  not  work  in  this  way.  Small 
as  was  the  actual  number  of  those  who,  at  the  different 
stations,  were  ready,  at  this  time,  to  brave  all  danger  for 
Christ,  another  ten  or  fifteen  years  of  progress  in  the 
same  proportion,  will  show  a  whole  community  reformed  ; 
who,  instead  of  requiring  missionaries  from  America  to 
preach  the  Grospel  to  them,  will  be  ready  both  to  supply 
their  own  need,  and  also  to  send  preachers  abroad  among 
the  different  races  in  Western  and  Central  Asia. 

During  the  winter  of  1843-4,  the  stations  in  Turkey 
were  favored  with  a  visit  from  the  Rev.  Rufus  Anderson, 
D.D.,  Secretary  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions,  and  the  Rev.  Joel  Hawes,  D.D.,  a 
corporate  member  of  the  Board.  An  opportunity  was 
thus  afforded  for  full  consultations  on  various  subjects, 
having  a  practical  bearing  on  the  missionary  work,  the 
results  of  which  clearly  attested  the  expediency  of  the 
measure.  An  important  change  followed  in  reference  to 
one   department    of    our   labors.       The   mission   to   the 

Greeks   in    Turkey   was    abandoned:      Mr.    Riggs,    of 

7* 


142  SPIRIT  OF  mauiRY  spreading. 

Smyrna,  and  Mr.  Ladd,  of  Briisa,  hitherto  laboring  exclu- 
sively in  this  department,  now  gave  themselves  up  to  the 
work  among  the  Armenians.  Mr.  Benjamin,  of  Athens, 
joined  the  station  at  Trebizond,  with  a  view  to  the  same 
field.  Mr.  Calhoun  removed  from  Smyrna  to  Syria,  and 
Mr.  Temple,  much  to  the  regret  of  all  who  knew  him,  re- 
turned to  America.  Though  his  ardent  desire  was  to  live 
and  die  in  the  missionary  field,  yet  his  own  judgment 
corresponded  with  that  of  the  secretary,  and  of  Dr. 
Hawes,  as  also  of  his  brethren  in  the  field,  that,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-four,  it  would  not  be  wise  for  him  to  attempt 
the  acquisition  of  a  new  and  difficult  language,  which 
was  an  indispensable  condition  for  preaching  the  gospel 
among  the  Armenians. 

From  1843  to  1846,  there  was  no  long  period  of 
exemption  from  persecution,  though  throughout  the 
whole  field,  the  spirit  of  inquiry  and  discussion  wonder- 
fully spread,  and  believers  were  multiplied.  On  the 
whole,  there  was  a  very  decided  increase  in  the  size  of 
the  congregations  on  the  Sabbath,  though,  both  at  Trebi- 
zond and  Erzrum,  it  became  necessary,  during  a  portion 
of  the  time,  to  suspend  public  worship,  on  account  of  the 
hostility  of  the  hierarchy.  There  was,  indeed,  such  a 
hungering  for  the  Word,  as  has  probably  been  rarely 
witnessed  in  this  world.  The  Seminary  at  Bebek,  as 
well  as  the  houses  of  the  missionaries  in  Pera,  became  a 
very  common  place  of  resort  for  small  parties  of  men  and 
women,  who  came  on  every  day  of  the  week,  and  at  all 
hours,  and  were  almost  clamorous  to  hear  the  gospel 
preached.  Several  of  the  pupils  in  the  seminary  at  this 
time  were  pious,  and  it  never  had  a  stronger  hold  upon 
the  affections  of  the  seriously  disposed  portion  of  the 


JjMt 


FEMALES    AWAKENED.  143 

community,  or  was  doing  more  good.  A  pious  widow,  on 
placing  her  son  there,  said  to  him,  "  Henceforth  you  are 
to  forget  that  I  am  your  mother,  and  take  Christ  for  your 
mother,  and  live  for  him  alone.  My  only  object  in  placing 
you  at  the  school  is,  that  you  may  know  more  of  Christ, 
and  become  his  true  disciple." 

It  must  be  noted  as  one  of  the  signs  of  progress  belong- 
ing to  the  period  now  under  review,  that  family  worship, 
consisting  of  reading  the  Scriptures  and  prayer  in  the 
vulgar  tongue,  was  established  in  many  households ;  and 
often  did  the  request  come  from  females  living  in  different 
quarters  of  the  city,  that  meetings  might  be  opened  in 
their  neighborhood  expressly  for  the  women.  In  short, 
there  was  no  longer  any  obstacle  in  the  way  of  access  to 
this  portion  of  the  community,  and  it  was  becoming  a 
field  full  of  promise.  As  an  evidence  of  the  remarkable 
change  that  had  taken  place  in  this  particular,  1  will 
state  that  during  one  day,  devoted  to  visiting  families  in 
an  Armenian  quarter  of  the  city,  I  must  have  preached 
the  gospel  to  from  thirty  to  forty  females. 

One  of  the  most  striking  cases  of  conversion  among 
them  was  that  of  a  bigoted  nun,  from  sixty  to  sixty-five 
years  of  age,  who  had  spent  her  life  in  faithfully  going 
the  round  of  all  the  religious  observances  and  penances 
usually  prescribed  by  a  rigid  asceticism,  and  now,  she 
had  learned  to  count  all  these  things  "  loss  for  Christ." 
Said  she:  "  Formerly  I  thought  that  salvation  would 
come  from  doing  and  suffering  many  things  ;  but  now, 
blessed  be  God,  I  have  learned  that  Christ  alone  is  my 
Saviour." 

To  meet  the  wants  of  the  times,  and  in  obedience  to 
what  seemed  plainly  to  be  a  providential  intimation,  a  fe- 


144       PATRIARCH    REMOVED    AND    xMATTEOS     APPOINTED. 

male  seminary  was  opened  in  Pera  in  the  autumn  of  1845. 
It  was  kept  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Groodell,  in  whose  family 
the  pupils  boarded,  and  Miss  Lovell,  who  had  arrived  from 
America  for  the  purpose,  the  preceding  spring,  took  charge 
of  the  educational  department.  The  school  opened  with 
eight  scholars,  which  were  as  many  as  could  be  sustained 
by  our  funds,  though  many  parents  v/ere  sadly  disap- 
pointed when  they  were  told  we  could  receive  no  more. 

In  the  Autumn  of  1844  the  Patriarch  Asduadzadur, 
resigned  his  office,  and  Matteos,  formerly  bishop  of  Brusa, 
but  then  of  Smyrna,  was  appointed  in  his  place.  The 
former,  before  his  resignation,  became  more  and  more 
openly  intolerant  towards  Protestantism,  though,  for  the 
most  part,  his  enmity  exhausted  itself  in  words  of  bitter- 
ness and  gall.  Repeatedly  did  he  declare,  in  different 
churches,  that  he  and  the  principal  men  in  the  communi- 
ty had  put" themselves  under  vows  to  give  themselves  no 
rest  until  this  most  offensive  heresy  was  entirely  rooted 
out.  On  one  occasion,  after  uttering  the  heaviest  male- 
dictions against  the  evangelical  brethren,  he  expressed 
the  wish  that  "  their  graves  might  be  dug  in  haste,  and 
their  bodies  buried  in  everlasting  contempt,  and  so  deep 
that  the  sound  of  the  resurrection  trump  might  never 
reach  them  !"  And,  at  another  time,  after  telling  the 
people  that  the  Protestants,  under  the  cloak  of  religion, 
were  seeking  to  destroy  the  Armenian  faith,  added  ; 
"May  the  curse  of  G-od  be  upon  them  ;  may  they  all  be 
destroyed."  The  effect  of  these  denunciations  was  no 
doubt  to  keep  alive  the  spirit  of  fanaticism  in  some 
breasts,  though  coming  from  a  person  of  the  Patriarch's 
well-known  character,  they  had  comparatively  but  little 
influence.     One  brother  was  subjected  to  the  most  griev- 


PERSECUTION    OF    PRIEST    VERTANES.  145 

ous  injustice  and  persecution  under  this  Patriarch's  reign. 
This  was  the  pious  priest  so  often  alluded  to  under  the 
name  of  Vertanes.  He  had  been  highly  active  and  suc- 
cessful, both  among  men  and  women,  in  spreading  a 
knowledge  of  the  truth  ;  and  being  a  priest,  it  was  so 
much  the  more  offensive  to  the  hierarchy ;  as  it  was  also 
more  easy  for  them  to  take  revenge.  A  priest  is  the  pro- 
perty of  the  Church,  and  must  submit  implicitly  to  the 
commands  of  his  bishop  or  Patriarch  ;  and  he  may  be  sent 
into  the  interior  to  perform  duty,  or  to  atone  for  spiritual 
offences,  and  the  Turks  would  not  only  not  offer  any  hin- 
drance, but  aid,  if  necessary,  to  carry  into  effect  the  Pa- 
triarch's or  bishop's  sentence. 

Priest  Vertanes  had  retired,  as  has  been  said,  from  the 
regular  duties  of  the  priest's  office,  though  he  still  officially 
belonged  to  the  priesthood,  and  whenever  he  was  presen 
at  the  patriarchal  church,  according  to  custom,  they  gave 
him  a  priest's  robe  to  wear.  In  February  of  1843,  this 
robe  was  rudely  taken  from  him  by  the  chief  priest  of  that 
church,  who  forbade  him  any  longer  to  execute  the 
priest's  office.  Immediately  after,  there  was  so  u  iich 
excitement  in  the  city  in  regard  to  his  case,  that  he 
thought  it  wise  to  absent  himself,  for  a  while,  from  th^ 
capital,  and  accordingly  made  a  journey  of  eight  months 
in  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor  and  Armenia.  Wherever  he 
w^ent  he  determined  to  "  know  nothing  but  Jesus  Christ 
and  him  crucified  ;"  and  the  judgment-day  alone  can  dis- 
close the  amount  of  good  accomplished  by  his  labors. 
Soon  after  he  returned,  or  in  the  early  part  of  December, 
he  was  apprehended  on  the  Sabbath,  when  coming  out  of 
church,  and  thrown  into  the  Patriarch's  prison.  The  Pa- 
triarch now  tried  to  persuade  him  to  yield  to  the  Church, 


3 

4 


146  PERSECUTION    OF    PRIEST    VERTANES. 

and  drew  up  a  paper  of  recantation  for  him  to  sign.  He 
replied  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  put  his 
name  to  such  a  document,  but  offered  one  of  his  c  wn  in 
its  place,  the  amount  of  which  was,  that  he  was  a  regu- 
larly ordained  priest  of  the  Armenian  Church,  and  that  his 
office  required  him  to  preach  Christ,  which  he  had  en- 
deavored faithfully  to  do,  and  that  he  intended  still  to  do 
the  same.  This  paper  the  Patriarch  refused  to  accept : 
but  sent  the  priest  still  another,  which  also  he  could  not 
subscribe.  He  then  sent  the  Patriarch  another,  the  same 
in  substance  with  his  former  one,  saying  that  this  was  all 
he  could  do  "  The  Turks,"  said  he,  "  lately  beheaded 
an  Armenian  young  man  for  denying  the  Mohammedan 
religion ;  if  you  wish,  cut  off  my  head  here  by  the  door  of 
the  church — your  paper  I  cannot  sign."  The  very  next  day 
the  priest  was  strangely  released.  He  did  not,  however, 
long  enjoy  his  liberty.  He  was  very  soon  seized  again  by 
the  Patriarch's  beadles,  and  hurried  with  great  rudeness 
into  an  open  sail-boat.  An  opportunity  being  denied  him 
of  taking  any  change  of  clothes,  or  even  an  outer  garment 
fro  u  his  house,  although  it  was  mid-winter,  and  he  was 
h'*  itily  despatched  across  the  Sea  of  Marmora,  to  the  con- 
'  ent  at  Armash,  near  Nicomedia.  The  other  brethren, 
however,  were  not  intimidated  by  these  violent  move- 
ments, and  our  preaching  services  steadily  grew  in  num- 
bers, some  new  hearers  being  present  every  Sabbath. 

The  character  of  the  new  Patriarch  has  already  been  in 
part  told.  He  was  a  vacillating  man  ;  well-convinced  of 
the  errors  of  his  Church,  and  sometimes  appearing  to  favor 
reform,  but  extremely  afraid  of  offending  the  party  that 
was  strongest  for  the  time  being.  The  celebrated  teacher, 
Peshtimaljian,  whose  name  appears  in  the  early  part  of 


CHARACTER    OF    MATTEOS    PATRIARCH.  147 

this  narrative,  knew  him  intimately,  as  one  of  his  own 
scholars,  and  he  was  no  mean  judge  of  human  character. 
As  long  ago  as  the  year  1834,  when  Matteos  was  a  sim- 
ple vartabed  in  one  of  the  village  churches  on  the  Bos- 
pliorus,  and  was  on  very  friendly  terms  with  us,  the 
teacher  gave  him  the  following  character,  for  our  especial 
warning.  He  represented,  him  as  a  man  of  enlightened 
views,  but  without  principle,  and  always  governed  by 
what  he  considered  the  prevailing  opinions  and  wishes  of 
those  whom  he  desired  to  please.  When  thrown  among 
men  of  the  ritual  party,  he  was  a  ritualist,  and  when 
among  evangelical  men,  he  became  evangelical.  "  In 
short,"  said  the  teacher,  "  he  is  just  like  an  empty  cis- 
tern. If  you  put  your  head  to  its  mouth  and  say  boo^ 
the  cistern  says  boo  ;  if  you  say  bah,  the  cistern  answers 
bah.''''  And  every  development  we  have  seen  of  his  cha- 
racter, from  that  time  to  the  present,  has  justified  this 
description  of  the  discerning  Peshtimaljian.  Matteos  is  a 
man  of  more  than  common  ability  and  shrewdness,  and 
withal,  exceedingly  plausible  in  his  manner,  and  deep  in 
his  schemes. 

Soon  after  he  came  into  power,  many  of  the  evangeli- 
cal brethren  called  upon  him  ;  some  in  obedience  to  cus- 
tom, and  others  by  special  invitation.  To  all  he  mani- 
fested a  friendly  spirit ;  and  professed  to  be  in  favor  of 
education  and  even  of  reform,  and  opposed  to  persecution. 
He  was,  however,  exceedingly  anxious  that  both  the  mis- 
sionaries, and  the  "  Bible-men"  in  the  Armenian  commu- 
nity should  "  keep  still,"  and  avoid  all  "agitation," — as 
though  such  antagonistic  elements  as  the  truth  of  Grod, 
and  the  doctrines  and  practices  of  the  Armenian  Church, 
could  be  brought  in  contact  without  producing  commo- 


148  PERSECUTION  RESOLVED  UPON. 

tion ;  and  honest  men,  whose  sincere  desire  and  purpose 
was  to  live  always  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  to  "  maintain 
consciences  void  of  offence  both  toward  God  and  toward 
man,"  could  readily  consent  to  be  led  and  controlled  in 
their  religious  conduct,  by  the  worldly,  the  time-serving, 
and  the  unprincipled. 

The  position  of  the  Patriarch  at  this  time,  it  must  be 
acknowledged,  was  a  most  difficult  one.  The  evangelical 
doctrines  were  spreading  in  all  directions.  The  enemies 
of  the  truth  were  clamorous  for  some  decisive  measures 
which  should  effectually  check  the  alarming  tendency  to 
Protestantism.  They  would  neither  allow  their  Patriarch 
to  let  the  matter  rest,  nor  to  make  any  compromise. 
Already  had  the  report  gone  abroad  that  Matteos  himself 
was  a  Protestant.  And  in  sober  truth  he  knew  and 
doubtless  acknowledged  to  his  own  soul,  that  the  Protest- 
ants were  right  and  his  own  church  wrong.  I  can  even 
believe,  that  could  he  have  been  sure  of  carrying  the 
people  along  with  him,  and  also  all  his  dignity,  wealth, 
and  honor,  he  would  really  have  preferred  to  give  up  the 
old  system,  and  embrace  one  that  was  more  simple  and 
less  onerous.  But  he  knew  well,  that  the  great  mass  of 
wealth  and  influence  in  the  Armenian  community  was  on 
the  other  side.  He  was  ambitious  ;  and  now  that  he 
had  attained  to  the  highest  post  in  his  nation,  he  was 
resolved  to  keep  it.  He  found  the  evangelical  brethren 
much  less  disposed  to  yield  in  matters  of  faith  and  con- 
science, than  his  own  indifferentism  had  led  him  to  expect. 
There  was  no  alternative  ;  he  must  publicly  assume  the 
ground  of  an  opposer.  As  the  only  means  of  saving  him- 
self, he  firmly  resolved  to  sacrifice  the  Protestants.  From 
that  moment,  all  his  powers,  personal  and  official,  were 


*     BUSINESS    INTERFERED    WITH.  149 

employed  in  the  efibrt  to  eradicate  Protestantism  from  the 
land.  Only  two  general  methods  of  accomplishing  this 
object  presented  themselves ;  namely,  persuasion,  and 
force  ;  or,  in  other  words,  argumentation,  and  perse- 
cution. He  decided  upon  making,  for  his  first  experi- 
ment, a  combination  of  the  two,  hoping  that  the  effect  of 
each  would  thereby  be  increased. 

Almost  every  shopkeeper  and  artisan  in  Turkey  de- 
pends for  the  chief  profits  of  his  business,  upon  the 
patronage  of  some  wealthy  and  influential  individuals  ; 
and  young  men,  especially,  have  very  little  prospect  of 
advancing  in  the  world,  without  the  assistance  of  some 
such  friend.  The  Patriarch,  by  a  skilful  manoeuvre,  threw 
a  large  number  of  the  adherents  to  the  gospel,  into  the 
greatest  distress.  He  secretly  directed  all  the  faithful 
among  his  own  flock,  who  stood  in  the  relation  of  patrons, 
or  regular  customers  to  any  of  the  evangelical  brethren, 
silently  to  withdraw  their  patronage.  The  consequence 
was,  that  many  who  supposed  they  were  in  a  fair  way  of 
obtaining  a  competent  support,  found  themselves  sud- 
denly without  any  business.  Some  of  these  had  friends 
depending  on  them  for  daily  food ;  when,  all  at  once,  it 
appeared  that  they  had  not  the  ability  of  providing  for 
their  own  wants.  And  they  soon  found  also  that  all 
appeals  and  remonstrances  were  useless,  unless  accompa- 
nied by  a  pledge  to  withdraw  from  the  preaching  of  the 
missionaries,  and  cease  to  open  their  mouths  in  favor  of 
evangelical  views.  Another,  and  still  more  threatening 
measure  of  opposition  was,  that  all  the  priests  were 
ordered  to  hand  over  to  the  Patriarch,  the  names  of  those 
who  did  not  come  to  confession,  and  receive  absolution, 
and   partake    of    the    communion   in    their    respective 


150  BEDROS    VARTABED    DRIVEN    AWAY. 

churches.  Those  whose  consciences  were  fully  enlight- 
ened (and  they  were  specially  aimed  at  in  the  measure,) 
were  not  able  to  conform  to  these  rites,  because  of  the 
superstition  and  idolatry  involved.  Now,  excommunica- 
tion was  threatened  to  disobedience,  the  consequences  of 
which,  in  a  temporal  point  of  view,  must  necessarily,  in 
a  community  organized  as  this  was,  be  very  serious. 
There  was  a  delay,  however,  in  following  up  this  part  of 
the  plan,  perhaps  in  order  to  see  what  would  be  the 
result  of  the  other.  The  experiment  was  to  be  made 
throughout  the  country,  as  well  as  in  the  metropolis,  and 
orders  similar  to  the  above  were  sent  to  the  bishops  in  the 
interior,  wherever  Protestants  were  found. 

In  the  meantime,  some  few  of  the  ecclesiastics  them- 
selves were  showing  strong  inclinations  towards  the 
evangelical  side  of  the  question.  Two  or  three  vartabeds, 
as  well  as  some  of  the  priests,  had  gone  so  far  as  to  per- 
severe, from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  in  attending  the  public 
preaching  of  the  missionaries.  Others  were  known  to  be 
friendly.  Something  must  be  done  at  once  to  check  this 
tendency  to  Protestantism  among  the  spiritual  guides  of 
the  people.  Bedros  vartabed,  the  manner  of  whose  con- 
version has  already  been  alluded  to,  was  the  first  selected 
to  be  made  an  example  of.  It  was  known  through  the 
w^hole  city  that  he  had  embraced  evangelical  views,  and 
the  Patriarch,  as  a  test  of  his  opinions,  had  already 
ordered  him  to  perform  mass  on  a  certain  occasion,  which 
Bedros  had  declined  on  conscientious  grounds.  The 
Patriarch  now  instructed  him  to  proceed  forthwith  to  a 
town  on  the  Russian  frontier,  ostensibly  to  take  charge 
of  a  diocese.  The  real  object,  however,  was,  plainly  tu 
get  him  into  a  position,  from  whence  he  might  easily  be 


HIS    LABORS    AND    DEATH.  151 

conveyed  as  a  prisoner  to  the  monastery  of  Echmiadzin. 
The  vartabed  very  politely  declined  the  honor  of  this  ap- 
pointment, and  the  Patriarch  was  not  then  prepared  to 
resort  to  force.  After  some  little  delay,  it  was  arranged 
that  Bedros  should  proceed  to  the  monastery  at  Jerusa- 
lem. The  Patriarch  drew  up  a  paper  for  him  to  sign,  in 
which  he  was  required  to  promise  that  he  would  perform 
all  the  rites  of  the  Church,  and,  in  all  respects,  be  obe- 
dient to  his  superiors.  This  he  resolutely  persisted  in 
refusing,  on  the  ground  that  there  were  many  things  in 
the  ceremonies  of  his  Church,  which  he  could  not  con- 
scientiously perform.  He  never  got  nearer  Jerusalem 
than  Beirut ;  from  whence  he  proceeded  to  Aleppo  and 
Aintab.  For  many  years  he  labored  in  these  towns  and 
their  vicinity,  with  great  zeal  and  fidelity  for  the  spiritual 
good  of  his  countrymen,  though  in  the  midst  of  many 
persecutions,  trials,  and  dangers.  He  distributed  large 
numbers  of  evangelical  books,  and  preached  the  Gospel 
successfully  to  many  people.  He  was  suddenly  cut  off 
by  the  cholera  in  the  autumn  of  1849  ;  but  his  end  was 
peace. 

It  must  be  acknowdedged  that  not  much  was  made  out 
of  this  case,  so  far  as  the  intimidation  of  clerical 
inquirers  was  concerned,  but  the  resolute  Matteos  was  not 
to  be  discouraged.  Priest  Yertanes  was  fairly  in  his 
hands,  being  already  a  prisoner  at  the  Monastery  of 
Armash,  whither  he  had  been  sent  by  the  preceding  Pa- 
triarch. And  this  priest  had  been  adding  sin  to  sin,  by 
preaching  to  the  monks,  most  zealously  and  faithfully, 
salvation  through  the  blood  of  Christ  alone,  without  the 
deeds  of  the  law.  Several  of  them  were  awakened  and 
convinced,  and  some,  it  was  hoped,  really  believed  ;  and 


152  VERTANES'    SECOND    EXILE. 

word  was  brought  to  Constantinople  that  if  the  Protest- 
ant priest  was  not  removed,  all  the  inmates  of  the 
monastery  would  soon  become  corrupted.  An  imperial 
firman  was  forthwith  procured  (February,  1845),  by 
Matteos  Patriarch,  for  the  further  banishment  of  priest 
Yertanes  to  Kaisery  (Caesarea,)  where  Mr.  Sahakian  had 
been  confined  six  years  before,  for  a  like  offense.  While 
on  his  way  to  that  place,  in  the  charge  of  a  Turkish 
officer,  he  everywhere  preached  the  G-ospel,  for  which  he 
was  "in  bonds  ;"  nor  could  he,  in  the  place  of  his  second 
banishment,  cease  to  make  known  "  Christ  and  him  cru- 
cified," to  all  unto  whom  he  had  access.  In  July  of  the 
same  year,  the  Sultan,  on  the  occasion  of  a  great  feast, 
gave  orders  to  have  all  the  exiles  in  the  country  set  at 
liberty  ;  and  our  persecuted  brother  returned  to  Constan- 
tinople on  the  4th  of  August.  Letters  afterwards  came 
to  the  Patriarch  from  Kaisery,  saying,  that  Yertanes  had 
seduced  many,  and  that  if  he  had  remained  there  much 
longer,  all  would  have  gone  after  him.  Thus  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  in  this  instance  also,  overruled  the  evil 
designs  of  the  hierarchy,  and  caused  "  the  wrath  of  man 
to  praise  him." 

While  the  priest  was  still  in  exile,  another  glaring 
case  of  persecution  occurred,  which  properly  belongs  to 
this  part  of  the  narrative.  A  highly  respectable  inhabi- 
tant of  Trebizond,  Tateos  by  name,  who  had  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Armenian  municipal  council,  became  very 
much  interested  in  the  study  of  the  Bible.  Being  a  man 
of  some  property,  he  went  on  a  tour  to  Constantinople, 
Smyrna,  Brusa,  Nicomedia,  and  Adabazar,  solely  for  the 
purpose  of  becoming  acquainted  with  the  missionaries, 
and  native  brethren  in  those  places,  and  learning  more  of 


CRUEL    TREATMENT    OP    MR.    TATEOS.  153 

the  work  of  God's  Spirit,  as  well  as  of  the  truths  of  his 
"Word.  He  returned  to  Trebizond,  very  much  strengthened 
in  his  faith,  and  quickened  in  his  zeal  for  the  truth. 
Just  before  his  arrival,  the  most  stringent  measures  had 
been  adopted  to  compel  the  evangelical  brethren  to  submit 
to  the  Church,  in  obedience  to  a  very  urgent  denunciatory 
letter  from  the  Patriarch  Matteos. 

Nearly  one-half  of  the  reputed  Protestants  had  been 
induced  to  recant,  and  the  persecuting  party,  fearing, 
with  good  reason,  that  the  influence  of  such  a  man  might 
turn  the  scale,  resolved  to  put  him  out  of  the  way,  with 
all  possible  despatch.  Accordingly,  just  as  the  steamer 
was  leaving  for  Constantinople,  he  was  decoyed  on  board 
by  stratagem,  and  immediately  thrust  down  into  the 
hold,  and  there  confined,  by  order  of  the  Turkish  pasha, 
who  acted  at  the  instigation  of  the  Armenian  vartabed. 
Here  was  a  faithful,  honest,  and  valuable  citizen,  torn 
away  from  his  affectionate  wife  and  children,  (they  not 
knowing  whither  he  was  to  be  carried,)  without  even  a 
show  of  examination,  or  trial,  and  without  being  told  who 
was  his  accuser,  or  what  was  the  accusation,  or  where  he 
was  going,  and  carried  off  under  guard  like  a  felon  ! 
Arrived  at  Constantinople,  he  was  conducted  first  to  the 
Patriarchate,  and  from  thence  to  the  Armenian  hospital, 
to  be  confined  in  the  mad-house  !  He  was  placed  in  a 
sitting  posture,  and  fastened  with  two  chains,  one  from 
his  neck  to  the  wall,  and  the  other  from  his  feet  to  the 
floor.  It  is  impossible  to  tell  how  long  he  might  have 
remained  in  this  condition,  had  not  some  of  the  brethren, 
very  providentially,  discovered  the  place  of  his  confine- 
ment, and  gained  admittance  to  him,  notwithstanding 
every  efTort   had    been  made   at  concealment,    and    the 


154  DELIVERANCE    FROM    PRISON. 

strictest  orders  issued  from  the  Patriarchate  to  permit  no 
one  from  without  to  enter  the  room  where  he  was.  He 
was  afterwards  removed  to  a  more  remote  apartment,  so 
as  to  prevent  all  further  access  to  him.  On  the  Sabbath, 
the  eighth  day  of  his  imprisonment,  while  the  Armenian 
congregation  were  engaged  in  singing  in  the  chapel  in 
Pera,  he  entered  the  room — a  free  man !  Much  supplica- 
tion had  been  made  for  him,  and  his  sudden  appearance 
among  us,  without  our  knowing  how  he  had  been  libe- 
rated, strongly  reminded  all  of  the  case  of  Peter,  as 
recorded  in  the  Acts.  We  united  in  special  thanks- 
giving to  Grod  for  his  deliverance,  and  took  courage.  His 
case  had  been  made  known  to  Sir  Stratford  Canning,  and 
there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  remonstrances  of  this 
benevolent  individual  caused  the  Patriarch  to  loosen  his 
grasp  upon  this  innocent  victim  of  his  oppression. 

It  was  evident,  from  the  very  commencement  of  Mat- 
teos  Patriarch's  reign,  that  he  regarded  the  Seminary  at 
Bebek  as  a  most  important  instrument  of  promoting  and 
perpetuating  Protestantism  in  the  land.  On  this  account 
he  labored  with  the  most  unwearied  assiduity  for  its 
overthrow.  During  a  whole  year,  it  occupied  almost  his 
unremitting  attention,  and  many  and  ingenious  were  the 
plans  he  devised  to  accomplish  his  purpose.  Nor  did  he 
hesitate  to  employ  means  that  were  positively  dishonest 
and  immoral.  The  utmost  that  he  succeeded  in  effecting, 
however,  was  to  detach  half  a  dozen  boys  from  the  in- 
stitution, while  more  than  a  dozen  others  were  added  in 
their  stead ;  and  to  force  an  assistant  teacher  to  leave 
us,  whose  place  was  very  soon  more  than  supplied  by 
another. 

But  it  was  thought  best  to  make,  at  least,  a  show  of 


DISCUSSION    AND    ITS    FRUITS.  155 

argumentation,  in  order  to  give  a  check  to  the  spread  of 
evangelical  views.  The  Patriarch's  party  had  affected  to 
despise  the  Protestants  for  their  want  of  learning  ;  and  it 
was  hoped,  that  by  engaging  them  in  discussion  with 
some  of  the  strongest  men  of  the  other  side,  they  would 
be  so  completely  silenced  as  to  become  objects  of  con- 
tempt, and  thus  the  current  of  public  feeling  be  turned 
against  them.  The  first  of  these  discussions  was  held  at 
the  house  of  a  very  respectable  Papal  Armenian,  a  man 
of  property  and  influence,  who  was  himself  opposed  to 
Protestantism,  and  desirous  of  doing  what  he  could  to  put  it 
down.  Several  of  his  learned  friends  came  together,  among 
whom  were  three  or  four  vartabeds  ;  and  on  the  evangeli- 
cal side  were  a  few  of  our  brethren — Mr,  Apisoghom 
Khachadurian,  being  the  chief  speaker.  After  two  or 
three  discussions  on  the  infallibility  of  the  Church,  tran- 
substantiation,  confession  to  a  priest,  &c.,  the  Roman 
party  withdrew  from  the  contest ;  but  the  individual  at 
whose  house  the  meetings  were  held,  was  convinced  that 
the  evangelical  side  of  the  question  was  true,  and  after- 
wards he  became,  as  we  hope,  a  truly  converted  man. 
Very  soon  the  Protestants  were  challenged  to  send  their 
strongest  men  to  meet  the  most  famous  of  all  their  cham- 
pions of  Armenian  orthodoxy,  Mr.  Chamurjian,  the  prin- 
cipal of  the  Scutary  College.  The  whole  arrangement 
of  these  meetings  was  such  as  to  favor,  as  much  as 
possible,  the  Patriarch's  party.  They  were  held  at  one 
of  their  own  houses,  and  the  proportion  of  Protestants  in- 
vited was  never  probably  more  than  one  to  ten  of  the 
Armenians.  The  subjects  to  be  discussed  were  selected 
by  the  advocates  of  the  Church,  and  prepared  for  before- 
hand, but  by  design,  not  made  known  to  the  Protestants, 


156  PUBLIC    DEBATES. 

itntil  they  appeared  on  the  ground.  It  was  found, 
however,  that  the  clear  and  simple  Scripture  arguments 
of  Mr.  Khachadurian,  and  his  few  companions,  had  far 
more  eftect  on  the  minds  of  those  present,  than  all  the 
parade  of  scholastic  logic  and  learning  made  by  their 
boastful  antagonist,  and  the  meetings  were  soon  disconti- 
nued. The  press  was  now  resorted  to,  and  this  same  Mr. 
Chamurjian  published  a  work  on  baptismal  regeneration, 
and  another  on  transubstantiation,  both  of  which  were 
most  ably  and  satisfactorily  answered — the  former  by  Mr. 
Wood,  and  the  latter  by  Mr.  Khachadurian.  At  last,  by 
express  order  of  the  Patriarch,  a  meeting  for  the  discus- 
sion of  religious  topics  was  opened  in  a  room  connected 
with  the  great  Patriarchal  Church,  Only  those  were 
permitted  to  take  part  in  the  debates,  however,  who  had 
signed  a  paper  professing  attachment  to  the  Church,  and 
belief  in  its  "  orthodox"  doctrines.  This  was  intended  to 
exclude  all  decided  Protestants ;  and,  indeed,  the  whole 
object  of  this  new  scheme  was  to  bring  the  weak  and  the 
wavering  under  the  potent  influence  of  Mr.  Chamurjian's 
eloquence,  in  order  to  establish  them  in  the  Armenian 
faith.  The  subjects  discussed  were  "  faith  and  works," 
and  "  the  infallibility  and  authority  of  the  Church." 
Only  three  meetings  were  held,  and  the  famous  champion 
of  the  Patriarch  was  so  completely  foiled  in  argument  at 
the  two  first,  by  two  of  the  evangelical  brethren,  who 
got  permission  to  speak,  that,  on  both  occasions,  he  left 
the  room  in  anger,  and  at  the  third  meeting  he  did  not 
make  his  appearance  at  all.  The  chief  speakers  on  the 
Protestant  side  of  the  question  at  these  meetings  were 
Mr.  Stepan,  now  secular  agent  of  the  Protestant  com- 
munity at   the  Porte,    and   Mr.  Avedis,    then    assistant 


A    JESUIT    REVILER.  157 

teacher  ia  the  Seminary  at  Bebek,  at  which  he  was  edu- 
cated, and  now  colleague  pastor  in  the  Evangelical 
Armenian  Church  in  Constantinople.  Three  hundred 
persons,  it  is  said,  had  assembled  ;  and  after  waiting 
some  time,  the  Protestants,  three  or  four  in  number, 
retired.  They  were,  however,  followed  in  the  streets  by 
a  company  of  *'  lewd  fellows  of  the  baser  sort,"  and 
severely  stoned  ;  a  method  of  treating  Protestantism, 
which  it  seems,  after  all,  was  considered  better  adapted  to 
the  circumstances  of  the  assailants,  and  far  more  cogent 
than  argumentation. 

Some  of  the  presses  of  the  Papal  party  were  employed 
in  issuing  works  in  the  Armenian,  and  Armeno-Turkish 
languages,  intended  to  deepen  the  existing  prejudices 
against  Protestants,  and  hold  up  the  missionaries  to  con- 
tempt. Among  the  most  remarkable  of  these  was  a 
series  of  small  volumes,  published  in  Constantinople,  by 
a  French  Jesuit,  by  the  name  of  Bore.  They  were  filled 
with  slanders  of  the  most  abusive  and  shameless  kind ; 
and  on  this  very  account  they  utterly  failed  in  their 
object.  The  author  was  evidently  sent  to  the  East  for 
the  express  purpose  of  counteracting  Protestant  influences, 
and  he  seems  to  have  been  a  fitly  chosen  tool  for  a 
society  of  men,  whose  foundations  are  laid  in  "  all 
deceivableness  of  unrighteousness."  At  Constantinople, 
on  his  first  arrival,  he  was  a  scientific  traveller ;  at 
Oroomiah,  he  was  a  colonel,  with  sword  and  epaulets  ;  at 
Tabriz,  he  was  an  humble  school  teacher  ;  at  Isfahan,  he 
was  a  zealous  propagator  of  the  Roman  faith  ;  and  at 
Mosul,  he  became  a  French  Consul  General,  destined  to 
the  Holy  Land  ! 

Notwithstanding  the  hostility  shown  by  the  ecclesias- 


158  COLPORTEURS CONVERSIONS. 

tical  powers,  there  was  no  diminution  in  the  number  of 
evangelical  books  distributed,  but  rather  an  increase. 
Two  judicious,  well-informed,  and  active  brethren  were 
constantly  employed  in  traversing  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  city,  and  also  the  shores  of  the  Bosphorus,  for  the 
purpose  of  selling  evangelical  publications,  and  conversing 
with  men,  as  opportunities  offered,  on  religious  subjects. 
They  were  highly  useful  in  bringing  their  countrymen  un- 
der the  sound  of  the  Gospel,  and  in  other  ways  into  contact 
with  the  missionaries.  It  was  now  also  a  common  thing 
for  strangers  from  the  interior  provinces  to  call  upon  Mr. 
Homes,  and  procure  books  to  take  back  with  them  to 
their  homes  for  circulation ;  and  some  of  these  were 
priests  and  vartabeds.  Among  those  converted  to  the 
truth,  were  some  who  had  formerly  been  in  the  ranks  of 
the  enemy.  One  of  these,  a  man  of  about  fifty  years  of 
age,  confessed,  with  weeping  and  strong  crying  to  God 
for  forgiveness,  that  when  the  order  had  come  from  the 
Patriarch,  some  time  previous,  that  all  who  possessed  any 
of  the  Smyrna  books  should  bring  them  to  the  Patri- 
archate, he  unhesitatingly  obeyed,  and  carried  all  his 
books  there  to  be  burned  ;  which  he  now  considered  a 
very  great  sin,  though  it  was  done  through  ignorance. 
Another  acknowledged  that  he  stood  by  the  door  of  the 
furnace,  and  assisted  in  crowding  our  books  into  the 
flames ! 

Besides  the  efforts  made  for  spreading  abroad  our  pub- 
lications at  the  capital,  several  tours  were  performed  by 
native  agents,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Homes,  in 
different  parts  of  the  interior,  and  always  with  encourag- 
ing success.  One  of  these  journeys  embraced  all  the 
important  places  on   the  southern   side  of  the  Sea  of 


MISSIONARY    TOURS.  159 

Marmora,  where  the  brethren  were  well  received,  and 
many  books  were  sold,  and  in  each  place,  a  small  quan- 
tity was  left  in  the  hands  of  an  agent  for  sale.  Another 
longer  journey  was  made  by  the  evangelical  Armenians, 
through  different  parts  of  Armenia,  and  especially  the 
country  bordering  on  the  Euphrates.  Owing  to  the  fears 
of  the  people,  they  were  not  very  successful  in  disposing 
of  books,  but  they  found  many  minds  in  an  awakened 
state,  and  many  favorable  opportunities  for  making 
known  the  Gospel.  They  also  had  their  trials  from  the 
opposition  of  some  of  the  clergy.  Another  tour  was  made 
to  Varna,  in  European  Turkey,  on  the  shores  of  the 
Black  Sea.  Several  persons  here  showed  a  deep  interest 
in  listening  to  the  G-ospel,  and  nearly  all  the  publications 
carried  there  were  sold,  and  a  new  supply  was  after ward^ 
forwarded  from  Constantinople.  Still  another  tour  was 
performed,  by  two  of  the  brethren  to  various  parts  of 
European  Turkey.  They  spent  a  whole  month  at 
Rodosto,  where  a  strong  Papal  influence  had  recently 
been  exerted,  and  several  of  the  Armenians  had  expressed 
their  determination  to  acknowledge  allegiance  to  the 
pope.  Our  brethren  succeeded  in  persuading  them  to 
turn  away  their  ears  from  the  delusive  teachings  of  the 
emissaries  of  Rome,  and  a  congregation  for  Papal  wor- 
ship, which  a  Romish  priest  had  been  gathering  from 
among  the  Armenians,  was  very  soon  dispersed.  Many 
were  disposed  to  listen  to  the  claims  of  the  Gospel,  and 
even  among  the  priests,  there  was  a  searching  for  the 
truth.  Five  of  them  came  at  one  time  for  religious 
inquiry.  After  leaving  Rodosto,  the  brethren  visited 
Adrianople  and  Philipopoli,  and  returned  by  way  of  Salo- 
nica.     They  had  taken  a  large  quantity  of  books  with 


160  CENSORSHIP    OF    THE    PRESS. 

them  in  the  different  languages  of  that  part  of  the  coun- 
try, and  they  came  back  literally  empty-handed,  having 
been,  by  no  means,  able  to  supply  the  actual  demand. 

Among  other  marks  of  progress  towards  European  civi- 
lization, though  not  improvement,  in  Turkey,  was  the 
establishment  of  a  censorship  of  the  press.  Whether  it 
was  some  friendly  foreign  power,  or  a  Christian  Patriarch, 
that  first  made  the  suggestion,  is  not  certainly  known. 
It  became  a  troublesome  innovation,  however,  to  our  book 
distributing  enterprise,  and  threatened  to  be  still  more  so  ; 
but  a  kind  Providence  soon  freed  us  from  all  embarrass- 
ment on  the  subject.  It  was  at  first  made  a  rule,  that  no 
book  should  be  introduced  into  the  metropolis  without 
being  examined  and  sanctioned  by  the  Patriarch  in  whose 
language  it  was  printed.  We  soon  ascertained,  however, 
that  the  whole  object  of  the  law,  so  far  as  the  government 
was  concerned,  was  to  shut  out  inflammatory  political 
works,  and  our  well-known  character  with  the  Turkish 
authorities  was  a  sufficient  guarantee  that  none  of  our 
publications  would  come  under  this  denomination.  In- 
deed the  officer  at  the  custom  house  whose  duty  it  was  to 
superintend  this  department,  seemed  to  take  special  pains 
to  suffer  our  boxes  of  books  to  pass  easily  through. 

Among  the  evangelical  brethren,  a  temperance  society 
was  formed,  which  was  the  first  one  of  the  kind  that  ever 
existed  in  Turkey.  Dr.  SewalPs  plates  of  the  stomach 
were  used  with  very  good  effect  in  lecturing  on  the  sub- 
ject. This  movement  was  rendered  the  more  interesting 
from  its  being  entirely  self-prompted. 

Within  the  space  of  about  six  months,  no  less  than  four 
individuals  from  among  the  Armenians  who  had  given 
satisfactory  evidence  of  piety,  were  called  away  from  this 


4 

DEATH    OF    MRS.    VAN    LENNEP.  161 

world.  They  all  died  in  peace,  and  almost  with  their 
latest  breath  were  enabled  to  bear  testimony  to  the  truth, 
and  power  of  the  Gospel.  Such  cases  were  new  in  that 
part  of  the  world,  where,  uniformly,  every  effort  is  made 
to  divert  the  attention  of  a  dying  person  from  all  thoughts 
of  death,  and  to  lead  him  to  suppose,  even  to  the  very 
last,  that  he  is  about  to  recover.  The  case  was  probably 
never  before  known  among  the  Armenians,  of  a  dying 
man  talking  calmly  and  joyfully  even  of  his  own  dissolu- 
tion, and  expressing  the  most  delightful  assurance  that  he 
was  soon  to  be  received  into  the  joy  of  his  Lord.  And  of 
what  account  is  all  the  treasure  expended  during  the  pre- 
sent missionary  age,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  the  une- 
vangelized  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Gospel,  compared  with 
the  priceless  value  of  such  hopes  and  joys  ! 

During  the  period  of  time  embraced  in  this  chapter, 
the  angel  of  death  was  also  commissioned  to  invade  the 
missionary  circle.  Mrs.  Van  Lennep  was  called  in  the 
youthful  ardor  of  her  missionary  career,  to  exchange  the 
toils,  and  self-denials,  and  exposures  of  her  position  here, 
for  a  higher  and  nobler  work  in  the  kingdom  above.  She 
died  on  the  27th  of  September,  1844.  Within  less  than 
a  year  from  the  time  of  her  embarkation  from  America, 
she  finished  her  earthly  course.  She  kept  the  faith,  and 
is  now  doubtless  wearing  the  "  crown  of  glory  which  the 
Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give  to  all  them  that  love 
his  appearing."  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Yan  Lennep  had  been  re- 
moved from  Smyrna  to  Constantinople  during  the  preced- 
ing spring,  for  the  express  purpose  of  taking  charge  of 
the  female  seminary  then  in  prospect,  and  her  early  re- 
moval was  on  this  account  an  uncommonly  grievous  af- 
fliction to  the  mission. 


OHAPT  E  R     VIII. 

Cruelty  of  the  Bishop  of  Erzrfim — Good  from  Evil — Enlightened  Prelates 
the  worst  Persecutors — Central  position  of  Erzrum — Truth  spreading  in 
the  Villages — Prosperity  at  Trebizond — Death  of  a  Believer — Shameful 
Burials — ^Vacillating  Ecclesiastic — Boghos  the  Persecutor — Measures  of 
Coercion — Arrest  of  Protestants — House  of  Mr.  Bliss  stoned — Evil 
effects  of  Persecution — Influence  of  Trebizond  on  the  interior — Just 
views  prevailing  at  Brusa — A  Hermit  converted — Progress  in  Brusa 
and  its  villages — Missionary  tours  to  Nicomedia  and  Adabazar — A  Per- 
secutor converted — Deep  Earnestness — Instances  of  Persecution— 
At  Kurdbeleng — Pious  English  Families  at  Nicomedia — Death  of  Mr. 
Mugurdich  and  Mr.  Sarkis  at  Smyrna — Vartabed  from  Tarsus — Mr.  Van 
Lennep  at  Tocat, 

The  work  of  the  Lord  was  stationary  in  no  part  of  the 
Armenian  field,  nor  was  the  persecuting  power  long  at 
rest.  At  the  metropolis  there  were  restraints  upon  the 
hierarchy  and  its  supporters,  which  were  comparatively 
little  felt  in  the  provinces  ;  and  it  often  happened  that 
the  most  outrageous  cruelties  were  practiced  upon  Pro- 
testants in  the  interior,  while  at  the  capital,  the  breth-- 
ren  were  living  in  peace  and  quietness.  The  Bishop 
of  Erzrum  seemed  to  exceed  all  others  in  the  bitterness 
of  his  wrath  against  the  followers  of  the  Gospel,  and  the 
determined  perseverance  of  his  cruelty.  He  had  spie.. 
placed  in  every  part  of  the  town,  to  watch  the  conversa- 


CRUELTY    OF    THE    BISHOP    OF    ERZRUM.  163 

tion  and  movements  of  the  people,  and,  oftentimes,  his 
priests  were  stationed  on  the  roofs  of  the  houses  adjacent 
to  the  residences  of  the  missionaries,  to  notice  their 
visitors,  and  never  did  he  suffer  a  known  case  of  disobe- 
dience to  his  orders  to  go  unpunished.  In  repeated 
instances  was  the  cruel  bastinado  applied  under  his  own 
eye,  merely  for  the  offense  of  uttering  some  expression 
that  indicated  a  reverence  for  the  Word  of  God.  One 
fine  young  man  received  twenty  blows  on  his  bare  feet, 
and  was  afterwards  thrown  into  prison,  because  he  com- 
mitted the  double  sin  of  selling  to  another  a  copy  of  the 
Psalms,  in  the  Modern  Armenian,  and  of  calling  at  the 
house  of  one  of  the  missionaries.  Another,  a  teacher  of  a 
country  school,  was  severely  bastinadoed  for  teaching  the 
Gospel  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  village.  Another  still,  a 
merchant,  who  had  early  embraced  the  truth,  was 
knocked  down  in  the  bishop's  own  room,  cruelly 
beaten,  and  afterwards  excommunicated,  and  the  people 
commanded  to  spit  in  his  face  in  the  street ;  merely 
because  he  visited  the  missionaries.  His  priest,  for 
showing  so  much  sympathy  as  to  call  upon  him,  was 
himself  summoned  before  the  bishop,  and  bastinadoed. 
Another,  who  had  called  once  at  Mr.  Peabody's  house  and 
procured  some  books,  was  seized,  put  in  irons,  and 
thrown  into  prison.  His  books  were  taken  and  burnt 
before  his  eyes,  and  he  was  liberated  only  by  giving  a 
written  pledge  that  he  would  never  more  have  anything 
to  do,  either  with  the  missionaries  or  their  books.  Still 
another,  and  a  truly  pious  young  man,  was  punished 
with  the  cruel  bastinado,  for  no  other  offense  than  that 
he  was  overheard  by  some  of  the  bishop's  emissaries  to 


164    ENLIGHTENED    PRELATES    THE  WORST    PERSECUTORS. 

say  something  which  implied  a  desire  to  shape  his  con- 
duct according  to  the  Bible. 

In  most  cases,  these  violent  measures  only  tended  to 
confirm  the  individuals  in  their  new  views,  as  they  more 
clearly  developed  the  true  spirit  of  the  ruling  authorities 
in  the  Church.  It  was  also  the  testimony  of  those  upon 
the  ground  that  the  truth  never  made  so  much  progress 
among  the  permanent  Armenian  population  of  Erzrum, 
as  during  the  very  period  of  these  outrages.  Visits  to 
the  missionaries  for  religious  inquiry  increased  in  number 
and  interest ;  books  were  called  for  ;  and  several  who 
had  never  personally  known  the  missionaries  were  in  the 
habit  of  meeting  together  for  the  purpose  of  reading  the 
Scriptures,  and  assisting  one  another  in  understanding 
them. 

A  bitter  opposer  of  the  truth,  and  one  who  had  been 
especially  active  in  procuring  the  punishment  of  the 
young  teacher  mentioned  above,  was  suddenly  convinced 
of  his  error,  and  began  most  zealously  to  preach  the  very 
faith  he  once  sought  to  destroy.  Nor  was  this  the  only 
case  of  the  kind.  Another,  who  also  was  formerly  violent 
in  his  opposition,  a  man  of  wealth  and  influence,  was  so 
far  interested  in  the  truth,  as  to  attend  the  preaching  of 
Mr.  Peabody,  and  give  his  full  assent  to  its  truth.  A 
vartabed,  also  attended,  who  was  not  a  little  enlightened, 
and  anxious  to  do  good  to  his  people. 

It  is  a  mournful  but  instructive  fact,  that  the  most 
resolute  persecutors  among  all  the  prelates  of  the  Arme- 
nian Church,  were  three  men,  who  were  among  the 
earliest  friends  of  the  missionaries,  and  whose  minds  were 
probably  more  enlightened  in  regard  to  the  truths  of  the 
Gospel,  than  any  of  their  rank,  who  still  retain  connec- 


TRUTH    SPREADING    IN    THE    VILLAGES.  165 

tion  with  the  old  establishment.  Matteos,  Patriarch  of 
Constantinople,  the  story  of  whose  worst  persecutions  is 
still  to  be  told  ;  Eprem,  Bishop  of  Erzrum,  whose  out- 
rageous conduct  has  just  been  briefly  described  ;  and 
Boghos  Vartabed  of  Trebizond,  who,  in  his  unjust  and 
cruel  warfare  against  the  true  disciples  of  Christ,  was  not 
much  behind  the  other  two.  were  neither  ignorant  nor 
bigoted  men.  On  the  contrary,  they  all  knew  and 
acknowledged  the  errors  and  superstitions  of  their 
Church,  and  had  often  strongly  expressed  their  desires  for 
reform,  and  two  of  them,  at  least,  had  suffered  persecu- 
tion as  Protestants  ;  but  now  they  were  the  most  bold 
and  zealous  and  persevering  of  the  persecutors  !  They 
loved  the  praise  of  men  more  than  the  praise  of  God. 

Apparently,  one  principal  reason  why  the  hierarchy 
was  so  very  determined  and  persevering  in  its  measures 
to  expel  Protestantism  from  Erzrum,  was  its  central 
position,  and  its  consequent  influence  on  all  the  interior 
provinces  of  Armenia.  And  this,  in  fact,  gives  it  its 
chief  importance  as  a  missionary  station.  Both  the  mis- 
sionaries, and  also  their  native  assistant,  were  in  the 
habit  of  making  tours  in  different  directions  for  the  pur- 
pose of  preaching  the  Gospel,  and  distributing  books.  In 
the  district  of  Pasin,  east  of  Erzrum,  which  embraces,  in 
all,  nearly  two  hundred  villages,  Mr.  Peabody  found  both 
priests  and  people  remarkably  accessible.  One  or  two  of 
the  former  manifested  special  seriousness  of  mind.  And  in 
the  nearer  villages,  although  the  bishops  had  strictly  for- 
bidden the  people  from  receiving  our  books  and  having 
intercourse  with  the  missionaries,  yet  a  few  were  always 
found  whose  minds  were  so  much  awake  to  the  impor- 
tance of  the  truth,  as  to  lead  them  to  pay  but  little  regard 
8* 


166  PROSPERITY  AT  TREBIZOND. 

to  the  injunctions  of  their  spiritual  rulers.  In  one  in- 
stance,  the  chief  priest  himself  was  very  anxious  for 
instruction  in  the  way  of  salvation,  and  so  were  several 
of  his  people  ;  and  in  another,  two  vartabeds  seemed  to 
have  some  sense  of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  a  desire  to  know 
how  to  escape  from  it.  There  were  everywhere  adver- 
saries to  be  found  ;  but  neither  this,  nor  the  vio- 
lence and  fearful  threatenings  of  the  bishop  were  suffi- 
cient to  deter  the  people  from  seeking  our  publications, 
and  availing  themselves  of  personal  intercourse,  whenever 
that  was  practicable.  And  not  unfrequently  did  indivi- 
duals from  Egin,  Diarbekr,  and  other  distant  places,  call 
upon  the  missionaries  in  Erzrum,  for  the  express  purpose 
of  religious  inquiry.  A  missionary  tour  of  two  or  three 
months  to  Sivas,  Erzengan,  Egin,  &c.,  made  by  Mr. 
Harutun,  then  assistant  of  the  mission,  and  now  pastor 
of  the  Evangelical  Church  in  Nicomedia,  brought  to 
light  many  encouraging  facts  in  regard  to  the  state  of 
men's  minds  in  that  part  of  the  country.  In  every 
important  place  some  inquirers  were  found,  and  only 
laborers  seemed  to  be  needed  to  gather  in  an  abundant 
harvest. 

The  Gospel  had  made  very  encouraging  progress  at 
Trebizond,  so  far  as  an  intellectual  conviction  of  its 
truth  was  concerned.  That  station,  indeed,  would  not 
suffer  in  this  respect,  in  comparison  with  any  other  in 
Turkey.  The  quiet  preaching  of  the  Word,  and  the 
distribution  of  the  Scriptures,  and  of  other  evangelical 
books  and  tracts,  had,  by  the  blessing  of  Grod,  moved 
many  minds,  and  taught  them  the  difference  between 
truth  and  error.  They  became  diligent  and  earnest 
students  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  gladly  availed  thom^ 


DEATH    OF    A    BELIEVER.  167 

selves  of  every  opportunity  of  coming  together  for 
prayer.  Still,  not  many  of  the  whole  number  were  far 
enough  advanced  to  be  willing  to  run  much  risk  for  the 
truth's  sake ;  and  few,  indeed,  gave  fully  satisfactory 
evidence  of  being  "  born  again."  The  tests  of  Christian 
character,  however,  in  the  circumstances  of  these  people, 
it  must  be  confessed,  are  somewhat  different  from  what 
they  are  among  those  who  have  been  born  and  educated 
under  the  best  evangelical  influences.  The  people  grow 
up  cursing,  lying,  drinking  to  excess,  and  giving  a  loose 
rein  to  every  wicked  passion  ;  and  iii  general,  there  is  no 
tenderness  of  conscience  on  any  of  these  points,  and  no 
true  knowledge  of  the  evil  of  sin.  To  leave  off  cursing, 
and  lying,  and  drunkenness,  and  reviling,  in  such  cir- 
cumstances, implies  a  far  greater  change,  than  any 
similar  effect  would  imply  among  the  religiously  edu- 
cated population  of  America,  And  if,  in  addition,  we  see 
them  bearing  every  species  of  ignominy,  and  abuse,  and 
persecution,  meekly  and  uncomplainingly  for  the  Grospel 
of  Christ,  and,  at  the  same  time,  pursuing  with  avidity 
the  study  of  Grod's  "Word,  and  reverently  submitting  to 
its  authority ;  and  choosing  the  society  of  G-od's  people, 
and  the  privileges  of  his  house,  though  thereby  exposed 
to  much  temporal  inconvenience  and  danger  ;  how  can 
we  avoid  the  conclusion  that  here  is  evidence  of  a  radical 
change  of  character,  even  that  which  the  Holy  Spirit 
alone  can  effect?  It  was  exceedingly  gratifying  to  see 
the  increasing  watchfulness  against  sin,  spirit  of  prayer, 
humility,  zeal,  devotedness  to  God,  and  other  signs  of 
spiritual  progress  manifested  by  some  of  the  brethren. 
Not  unfrequently  also,  there  were  new  cases  of  conversion 
coming  to  the  knowledge  of  the  missionaries. 


168  CHRISTIAN    BURIAL    REFUSED. 

A  young  man  of  superior  mind  and  attainments, 
belonging  to  the  Papal  Armenian  denomination,  who  had, 
for  some  time,  given  the  most  satisfactory  evidence  of 
piety,  wsLS  called  to  his  rest  in  the  spring  of  1844.  He 
had  been  greatly  troubled  by  his  priest,  who  made  every 
effort  to  reclaim  him,  even  to  the  very  last  moment  of  his 
life.  Mugurdich,  for  that  was  his  name,  was  very 
decided,  and  a  few  days  before  his  death  he  made  a  formal 
renunciation  of  his  Church,  in  writing ;  and  peacefully 
committed  his  all  to  Christ.  His  body  was  not  permitted 
burial  in  the  graveyard,  or  with  the  usual  religious  cere- 
monies, but  at  a  late  hour  of  a  very  dark  and  stormy 
night,  it  was  carried  out  by  common  street  porters,  under 
the^direction  of  a  Turkish  police  officer,  and  placed  under 
the  ground,  in  the  midst  of  a  waste  place  about  a  mile 
from  the  city.  They  had  previously  attempted  to 
frighten  him  back  to  his  Church  by  threatening  to  bury 
him  like  a  dog,  and  faithfully  did  they  execute  the 
threat ;  though,  as  he  told  them  at  the  time,  they  could 
do  him  no  real  harm,  for  they  could  not  reach  his  soul. 

This  is  an  appropriate  place  for  narrating  briefly  the 
circumstances  of  another  burial  in  Trebizond,  of  some- 
what similar  character.  A  woman  died,  whose  husband 
and  sons  were  among  the  evangelical  party.  She  herself 
had  remained  faithful  to  her  Church  to  the  very  last,  as 
her  priest  testified,  and  yet  the  ecclesiastical  authorities 
decided  that  she  should  not  receive  a  Christian  burial, 
unless  her  husband  and  sons  would  recant.  No  one  had 
the  slightest  suspicion  of  the  woman,  and  the  whole  was 
a  mere  trick  to  reclaim  the  offenders ;  as  it  was  thought 
no  motive  could  be  urged  upon  them  that  would  make  a 
stronger  appeal  to  their  feelings  than  this.     They  could 


VACILLATING    ECCLESIASTIC.  1G9 

not  yield  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  however,  even  to  save 
their  family  from  so  great  an  insult  and  outrage  ;  and 
after  the  greatest  trouble,  and  being  obliged  to  keep  the 
body  an  unwonted  time,  they  were  at  length  compelled 
to  carry  it  out,  amid  the  jeers  and  spittings  of  the  crowd, 
and  bury  it  at  a  distance  from  the  city,  in  the  corner  of  a 
Mussulman's  farm  ! 

The  course  pursued  by  the  vartabed  at  Trebizond,  in 
reference  to  the  evangelical  party,  was  strangely  vacil- 
lating. One  day  he  gave  permission  to  the  brethren  to 
hold  meetings  for  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  ;  and  the 
next  he  denounced  them  from  the  pulpit,  and  seized  and 
tore  up  their  books  with  his  own  hands.  Again  he  con- 
ceded to  them  the  privilege  of  meeting  for  religious 
worship  in  their  own  way,  and  actually  made  a  public 
appointment  to  that  effect,  designating  a  priest  who 
should  be  present,  and  then  again,  after  three  meetings 
had  been  held,  eighty  or  more  persons  being  present  at 
each,  he  countermanded  the  order,  preached  most  violently 
against  the  Protestants,  and  threatened  the  book-agent 
of  the  mission  with  the  bastinado,  if  he  did  not  relinquish 
his  employment.  The  true  secret  of  his  conduct  was,  that 
he  tried  to  please  two  contending  parties  ;  and  of  course 
neither  was  satisfied.  One  man  urged  him  to  root  out 
the  Protestants  by  persecution ;  and  when  he  was  com- 
mencing the  experiment,  another  would  come  and  tell 
him  that  he  had  better  let  those  men  alone,  or  he  would 
get  himself  into  trouble.  "  Alas  I"  said  the  poor  varta- 
bed, ''  I  am  burning  between  two  fires.  One  party  will 
not  be  satisfied  unless  I  persecute,  and  another  rebukes 
me  if  I  do.  Would  that  I  had  never  come  to  this 
place." 

8 


170  BOGHOS    THE    PERSECUTOR. 

At  length  this  dignitary  was  induced  to  make  formal 
complaint  to  the  pasha  against  the  Protestants.  The 
pasha  requested  a  list  of  their  names,  and  here  an  unan- 
ticipated difficulty  arose.  The  vartabed's  counsellors 
could  not  agree  upon  the  names  to  be  sent  in  ;  for  each 
had  friends  among  the  proscribed,  whom  he  was  unwill- 
ing thus  to  hand  over  to  the  terrible  uncertainties  of  a 
Turkish  tribunal.  In  these  ways  the  Lord  defeated  the 
counsels  of  his  enemies. 

For  several  months  afterwards,  owing  to  a  quarrel 
among  the  Armenians  about  their  vartabed,  some  wishing 
to  remove  him  from  office,  and  others  to  have  him 
retained,  there  was  a  respite  from  persecution,  and  the 
brethren  gathered  strength  for  coming  contests,  which 
were  not  far  distant.  The  fickle-minded  vartabed  was, 
at  length,  superseded  by  one  far  more  decided,  and 
talented,  though  unfortunately  more  destitute,  also  of 
religious  principle.  This  was  Boghos,  to  whom  allusion 
has  been  made ;  formerly  a  professed  friend,  but  now  an 
open  enemy  of  the  Grospel.  Soon  after  his  accession,  he 
entered  upon  a  series  of  violent  efforts  to  arrest  the  refor- 
mation. He  first  summoned  before  him  two  brothers, 
who  were  justly  considered  as  among  the  leaders  in  the 
reform,  and  dealing  very  mildly  with  what  he  pleasantly 
called  their  "  errors,"  he  tried  to  prejudice  their  minds 
against  the  missionaries,  calling  us  by  certain  hard 
names,  and  uttering  many  slanders  against  us.  The 
answers  of  the  brethren  to  all  this,  were  so  perfectly 
satisfactory,  that  the  vartabed  became  rather  excited ; 
but  he  smothered  his  anger,  and  let  them  go  in  peace, 
charging  them  to  think  on  the  way  they  were  pursuing^ 
until  he  should  send  for  them   again.     In  the  course  of 


MEASURES    OF    COERCION.  171 

ten  days  they  were,  a  second  time,  ordered  to  appear  in 
his  presence,  he  having  this  time  called  to  his  assistance 
his  council  of  twelve.  Three  principal  charges  were  now 
brought  against  the  accused,  namely,  attending  the 
preaching  of  the  Americans  ;  shutting  themselves  up  in  a 
room  alone  to  pray ;  and  refusing  to  go  to  market  on  the 
Sabbath,  when  ordered  by  their  father.  Both  the  varta- 
bed  and  his  counsellors  became  considerably  excited,  in 
consequence  chiefly  of  their  inability  to  meet  the  Scrip- 
ture arguments  that  were  brought  forward  by  the  two 
brethren  ;  and  it  was  very  evident  that  there  was  a  disposi- 
tion, if  not  a  determination,  to  resort  to  measures  of 
force.  Several  acts  of  petty  persecution  followed,  but 
nothing  was  to  be  attempted  on  a  large  scale,  until  the 
Patriarch  at  Constantinople,  who  had  been  written  to, 
should  be  heard  from.  His  answer  at  length  came, 
during  the  spring  of  1845,  and  it  was  quite  characteristic. 
All  social  and  business  intercourse  with  the  Protestants 
was  strictly  prohibited ;  even  salutations  in  the  streets 
were  not  to  be  given  or  received  ;  those  occupying  hired 
houses,  or  shops,  were  immediately  to  be  thrust  out ;  and 
every  similar  method  of  harassing  and  injuring  them  was 
to  be  diligently  employed  ;  and  if  all  this  failed,  more 
stringent  measures  were  to  be  adopted.  These  orders 
were  obeyed  to  the  letter,  and  soon  it  was  impossible  for 
any  of  the  evangelical  brethren  to  appear  in  the  streets 
without  being  grossly  insulted,  and,  indeed,  exposed  to 
personal  danger  ;  and  at  home  their  condition  was  not 
much  better.  They  all  stood  firm  for  a  while,  but  at 
length,  one  after  another  yielded,  and  in  the  course  of 
ten  days,  about  one-half  of  those  who  had  been  numbered 
among  the  readers  of  the  Gospel  had  recanted.     Just  at 


172  ARREST    OF    PROTESTANTS. 

this  juncture  happened  the  return  and  seziure  of  Mr. 
Tateos,  who  was  sent  to  Constantinople,  as  narrated  in 
the  last  chapter. 

This  step  was  quickly  followed  up  by  other  acts  of 
violence,  calculated  greatly  to  increase  the  panic  of  the 
brethren.  The  vartabed,  with  such  a  letter  in  his  hand 
from  head  quarters,  could  easily  procure  from  the  civil 
authorities  any  amount  of  aid  he  might  require.  One  of 
the  Protestants,  who  had  recanted,  was  so  troubled  in 
conscience,  in  view  of  this  act,  that  he  went  boldly  to  this 
dignitary,  and  took  back  his  recantation.  He  was  imme- 
diately thrown  into  prison  ;  and  the  names  of  all  who 
still  refused  to  submit  to  the  Church  were  handed  over  to 
the  pasha,  and  a  general  arrest  was  determined  upon. 
During  nearly  the  whole  of  that  night,  the  one  imme- 
diately succeeding  the  departure  of  Mr.  Tateos,  the  police 
guards  were  patrolling  the  streets,  under  arms,  and  some- 
times forcibly  entering  houses,  in  search  of  the  doomed 
victims  of  ecclesiastical  wrath.  Three  more  individuals 
were  arrested  in  the  course  of  the  night,  and  thrown  into 
the  felons'  prison.  Some  of  the  brethren  had  fled  into 
the  country,  where  they  were  hunted  the  next  day  like 
wild  beasts.  Others  were  secreted  in  the  city,  and  the 
police  soldiers  were  frequently  seen  traversing  the  streets 
in  hot  haste,  to  ferret  them  out.  Grreat  was  the  exaspe- 
ration of  the  enemy,  in  some  instances  lashed  up  to  mad- 
ness, by  their  little  success  in  finding  their  prey.  One  of 
the  prisoners,  who  was  the  oldest  of  the  two  brothers, 
first  summoned  before  the  vartabed,  on  his  arrival  in 
Trebizond,  was  forthwith  sent  into  exile  to  a  place  called 
Karahissar,  some   two   or   three   hundred   miles   in  the 


INFLUENCE    OF    TREBIZOND    ON    THE    INTERIOR.  173 

interior.*  As  the  other  prisoners  were  soon  liberated,  it 
was  evident  that  much  of  the  violence  displayed  on  this 
occasion  was  for  show  and  effect.  It  ought  to  be  men- 
tioned, in  this  connection,  as  showing  the  ferocious  spirit 
of  the  times,  that  the  house  of  Mr.  Bliss  was  attacked  by 
a  mob,  who,  for  an  hour  or  more  pelted  it  with  stones, 
and  other  missiles,  breaking  all  the  windows  that  were 
exposed,  and,  of  course,  endangering  the  lives  and  limbs 
of  the  family  within.  Fortunately,  however,  most  of  the 
windows  were  protected  by  strong  wooden  shutters,  and 
no  one  was  injured. 

Though  the  violence  of  the  enemy  in  Trebizond  was 
temporarily  curbed,  yet  the  persecution  left  desolation  in 
its  track.  From  various  causes,  very  few  indeed  of  those 
who  were  regarded  as  truly  converted  men,  were  left 
upon  the  ground.  One  had  died,  others  were  absent  on 
business  ;  others  had  moved  away  on  account  of  their 
exposures  to  persecution ;  and  two  were  in  exile.  Mr. 
Powers,  however,  found  that  some  were  still  hungering  for 
the  bread  of  life,  and  were  ready  to  attend  a  preaching 
service,  though  they  came  with  much  fear  and  trembling. 
Neither  anathemas,  loss  of  business  and  reputation,  op- 
position of  friends,  exile,  or  threats  of  still  more  direful 
punishment,  had  yet  subdued  the  "  Gospel  readers,"  as 
they  were  often  tauntingly  called. 

The  influence  of  the  Trebizond  station  in  the  interior 
was  more  and  more  felt.  An  enlightened  priest  living  in 
a  district  not  very  remote,  was  active  in  promoting  edu- 

*  Application  was  subsequently  made  to  jNIatteos  Patriarch,  by  the  British 
Ambassador,  for  the  release  of  this  brother  from  exile.  The  Patriarch 
replied  that  neither  he,  nor  his  bishop  at  Trebizond  had  anything  to  do  with 
the  case,  and  that  it  was  not  religious  persecution  at  all,  but  the  man  was 
banished  by  the  Turkish  authorities  for  some  civil  misdemeanor ! 

7 


174  JUST    VIEWB    PREVAILING    AT    BKUSA. 

cation,  and  also  in  inculcating  evangelical  views.  Another 
country  priest,  who  had  been  an  opposer,  suddenly  became 
an  advocate  of  the  Gospel.  A  pious  book-agent  employed 
in  Tocat  and  its  vicinity,  was  quite  successful  in  distri- 
buting our  publications,  as  well  as  in  getting  access  to 
priests  and  people,  and  interesting  them  in  religious  con- 
versation. 

"While  persecution  was  the  order  of  the  day  at  Trebi- 
zond  and  Erzrum,  the  brethren  at  Brusa  were  permitted, 
for  the  most  part,  to  live  in  peace.  Occasional  threats 
were  given  out,  exciting  temporary  alarm,  but  no  violence 
was  resorted  to,  and  the  preaching  service,  and  other 
labors,  were  continued  without  interruption.  The  Scrip- 
tures in  the  vulgar  language,  were  introduced  into  a  girls' 
school,  opened  and  supported  by  the  Armenian  community, 
and  they  were  also  become  more  and  more  extensively 
read  by  the  people.  It  was  not  therefore  surprising  to 
find  more  just  views  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Grospel  be- 
ginning to  prevail.  One  of  the  primates  said  one  day  to 
Mr.  Schneider,  that  it  was  a  great  mistake  to  suppose 
that  baptism  was  regeneration  ;  "  for  then,"  said  he,  "  all 
who  bear  the  name  of  Christians  would  be  saved.  But 
baptism  is  only  an  external  application,  while  the  new 
birth  spoken  of  by  our  Saviour  is  a  radical  change  of 
character."  A  few  years  previous,  not  an  individual 
could  have  been  found  in  all  the  city  of  Brusa,  making 
such  a  distinction.  One  of  the  native  brethren  had  a 
long  conversation  with  two  vartabeds,  on  the  unscriptural 
usages  of  their  Church.  They  fully  assented  to  the  truth 
of  what  he  said,  but  asked,  "  Who  can  dare  to  speak  of 
these  things  publicly  ?"  They  needed  to  be  wholly  sub- 
dued  by  the  Gospel   of  Christ,  in  order  courageously  to 


A    HERMIT    CONVERTED.  175 

avow  their  ov^n  convictions  ;  but  even  this  mere  intellec- 
tual persuasion  of  the  truth  was  encouraging  as  a  mark 
of  progress,  and  especially  as  an  omen  for  good  among  the 
ecclesiastics. 

A  most  interesting  illustration  of  the  power  of  the  Gros- 
pel  in  transforming  the  whole  character,  was  presented 
about  the  same  time.  An  individual  had  lived  for  a  long 
time  as  a  wandering  hermit,  in  deserts  and  mountains,  only 
visiting  the  abodes  of  men  at  long  intervals  to  procure 
food.  He  carried  about  with  him  a  small  bone,  which  he 
had  received  as  the  relic  of  some  saint,  and  with  this  he 
would  pretend  to  cure  diseases,  receiving  food  in  pay, 
and  when  his  food  was  exhausted,  he  sometimes  subsisted 
for  days  upon  roots  and  grass.  Hearing  of  the  mission- 
aries in  Brusa,  he  called  upon  Mr.  Schneider,  and  asked 
his  opinion  of  the  use  of  relics,  and  other  superstitious 
observances.  The  conversation  gave  him  entirely  new 
thoughts  on  the  subject  of  religion.  He  soon  abandoned 
his  bone,  and  requested  Mr.  S.  to  give  him  a  copy  of  the 
New  Testament  in  its  place.  From  that  hour  this  book 
was  his  bosom  companion,  nor  did  he  read  it  in  vain. 
The  Holy  Spirit  was  his  teacher,  and  Christ,  and  he 
alone,  became  his  hope,  his  peace,  and  his  joy.  Rarely 
has  this  world  seen  a  brighter  example  of  meek,  unas- 
suming, simple-hearted,  and  active  piety. 

In  January,  1845,  the  missionaries  in  Brusa  gave  it  as 
their  deliberate  judgment,  that  in  no  previous  year  had 
light  and  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  been  so  much 
diffused  abroad  there,  as  during  the  year  1844.  Many 
were  convinced  of  the  errors  of  their  Church,  and  of  the 
truth  of  the  evangelical  system.  An  interesting  feature 
in  the  work  was,  that  females  were  coming  more  under 


176  PROGRESS  OF  THE  TRUTH. 

the  influences  of  the  G-ospel.  Some  of  them  exhibited 
great  tenderness  of  mind,  and  seemed  ready  to  forsake 
their  old  paths  of  superstition  and  sin,  and  walk  only  in 
the  way  prescribed  by  the  Word  of  Grod.  These  state- 
ments in  regard  to  the  general  progress  of  evangelical 
truth,  apply,  to  a  considerable  extent,  to  all  the  villages 
around  Briisa,  where  Armenians  are  found.  Several 
missionary  tours  were  made  during  the  period  now  under 
review,  both  by  the  missionaries  and  their  native  as- 
sistant ;  and  they  always  disclosed  an  awakened  state  of 
mind  at  least  in  some  individuals.  It  was  found  that  the 
people  themselves  were  holding  meetings  for  reading  the 
Scriptures  and  prayer,  in  small  numbers,  in  three  or  four 
of  the  villages,  and  some  of  the  priests  were  exceedingly 
interested  in  the  new  truths  they  had  discovered  in  the 
Gospel.  One  village  priest  seemed  to  be  a  truly  pious 
man,  and  was  actively  engaged  in  doing  good.  On 
every  Sabbath  day,  as  well  as  on  feast  days,  he  with  ten 
or  twelve  others  met  for  prayer,  either  in  his  own  house, 
or  in  a  retired  spot  in  the  mountains.  The  vartabed  of 
the  same  church  gave  his  full  sanction  to  the  circulation 
of  our  books.  It  was  very  evident  that  evangelical  senti- 
ments were  rapidly  spreading,  notwithstanding  the  many 
adversaries  that  were  everywhere  to  be  found.  Some  of 
the  principal  ecclesiastics  procured  from  the  Turkish 
governor  of  the  district  around  the  lake  of  ancient  Nice, 
an  order,  which  was  read  in  most  of  the  churches,  for- 
bidding people  to  talk  on  religious  subjects,  or  even  to 
mention  the  word  Protestant,  on  penalty  of  the  bastinado, 
and  imprisonment  for  three  years,  with  confinement  in  the 
stocks.  A  copy  of  this  order  was  procured  and  read  by 
Mr.  Schneider.     It  had  the  effect  of  retarding  the  open 


TOURS    TO    NICOMEDIA    AND    ADABAZAR.  177 

profession  of  the  truth,  but  could  not  arrest  its  progress 
in  the  minds  of  men.  Mr.  Schneider  himself  visited 
Balikesr  this  year,  at  the  time  of  the  annual  fair,  instead 
of  sending  an  agent  as  he  had  been  accustomed  to  do, 
and  he  sold  upwards  of  500  books  to  persons  from  all 
parts  of  the  interior  ;  besides  having  opportunities  for 
preaching  to  several  men  of  awakened  minds. 

As  no  missionary  was  stationed  at  Nicomedia,  or  Ada- 
bazar,  it  was  necessary  that  missionaries  from  other 
stations  should  occasionally  visit  those  places.  This  was 
done,  not  statedly,  but  irregularly,  though  as  often  as 
circumstances  would  admit.  During  the  years  1844  and 
1845,  preaching  tours  were  made  to  these  towns  twice 
by  the  author,  once  by  Mr.  Schneider,  and  twice  by  the 
Rev.  A.  Smith,  M.D.,  who  had  joined  the  mission  to  the 
Armenians.  The  chief  rulers  in  the  Armenian  commu- 
nities were  either  careless  skeptics,  or  zealous  ritualists, 
and  in  either  case,  equally  hostile  to  the  spread  of  a  pure 
and  spiritual  Christianity.  Among  the  influential  clergy 
also,  there  was  no  lack  of  active  opposers  to  the  G-ospel 
scheme.  On  the  other  hand,  the  evangelical  brethren 
were  few  in  numbers,  had  little  political  influence,  and 
were  destitute  of  human  protection,  very  nearly  in  pro- 
portion as  they  were  removed  from  the  metropolis.  Often 
were  they  visited  with  petty  persecutions,  and  threatened 
with  everything  that  was  terrible.  They  were  annoyed 
in  their  business,  and  hindered  from  coming  together  for 
religious  worship.  They  were  afraid  to  be  seen  with  a 
missionary,  or  even  with  one  another.  And  yet  they 
grew  and  multiplied.  The  Lord  restrained  the  wrath  of 
man,  and  made  their  very  "  enemies  to  be  at  peace  with 
them."  On  one  occasion,  when  the  brethren  in  Nico- 
8* 


178  A    PERSECUTOR    CONVERTED. 

media  were  obliged  to  hold  their  meetings  in  the  fields,  on 
account  of  the  "fury  of  the  oppressor,"  a  hot-headed 
young  man,  of  great  muscular  power,  who  was  "  exceed- 
ingly mad  against  them,"  took  with  him  "  certain  lewd 
fellows  of  the  baser  sort,"  the  regular  tools  of  the  perse- 
cutor in  all  times  and  places,  and  armed  with  large 
sticks,  they  repaired  to  the  place  where  they  had  ascer- 
tained "  prayer  was  wont  to  be  made  ;"  with  the  fall 
determination  of  inflicting  bodily  chastisement  on  the 
brethren.  The  leader  of  the  meeting,  who  was  the  special 
object  of  their  hatred,  saw  them  present,  and  knew  well 
for  what  purpose  they  had  come.  Fixing  his  eyes  on  the 
young  man  at  the  head  of  the  band,  and  calling  him  ten- 
derly by  name,  while  he  held  up  to  view  a  copy  of  the 
New  Testament,  from  which  he  was  about  to  read,  he 
said,  "  Is  there  anything  bad  in  this  book,  that  you 
wish  to  prevent  us  from  reading  it."  The  young  man 
was  immediately  overcome  ;  he  threw  away  his  weapon, 
becarne  a  deeply  anxious  inquirer  after  the  truth,  was 
wholly  transformed  in  his  character,  united  himself  heart 
and  hand  with  the  people  of  G-od,  and,  in  his  turn, 
became  a  persecuted  follower  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

It  was  generally  thought  necessary  to  observe  the 
utmost  caution  in  holding  intercourse  with  the  mission- 
aries when  they  came  to  Nicomedia  and  Adabazar. 
Meetings  for  conversation,  preaching,  and  prayer,  were 
usually  held  in  the  evening,  and  sometimes  even  at  mid- 
night, in  some  "  upper  room,"  for  fear  of  the  Armenians, 
as  in  apostolic  times,  similar  expedients  were  resorted  to 
for  fear  of  the  Jews.  Preaching  on  the  Sabbath  was 
usually  in  some  retired  garden,  or  in  a  secluded  spot  in 
the  distant  fields.     Nothing  could  exceed  the  interest  of 


DEEP    EARNESTNESS.  179 

.Ik. 

these  occasions.  Here  were  men  that  had  just  emerged 
from  the  deepest  spiritual  darkness,  living  as  sheep  in  the 
rnidstof  wolves.  Their  enemies  were  many  and  powerful, 
ferocious,  and  untiring.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  the 
joy  with  which  they  always  welcomed  the  coming  of  a 
missionary,  and  the  eagerness  with  which  they  listened 
to  every  word  that  fell  from  his  lips.  "With  them  the 
assembling  of  themselves  together  for  prayer,  and  reading 
and  hearing  the  Word  of  G-od,  was  no  mere  matter  of 
form  and  custom.  They  were  deeply  in  earnest  about 
religion.  They  felt  that  their  duties  to  Christ  and  his 
Grospel  were  paramount  to  every  other.  Their  whole 
souls  seemed  enlisted,  and  the  Bible  was  their  daily 
source  of  nourishment,  for  which  they  hungered  and 
thirsted,  as  for  their  daily  food.  And  though  living 
under  such  constant  exposures  to  persecution,  they 
seemed  full  of  peace  and  joy.  More  cheerful  and  happy 
Christians  could  scarcely  be  found  in  this  wide  world. 
The  weight  of  responsibility  resting  upon  the  missionary 
who  was  called  to  address  such  men,  in  such  circum- 
stances, seemed  almost  too  great  to  be  borne. 

A  few  instances  of  persecution  will  be  narrated,  as 
specimens  of  the  trials  to  which  these  ''  little  ones"  of 
Christ  were  subject.  One  of  the  brethren  in  Adabazar, 
for  refusing  to  open  his  shop  on  the  Sabbath,  was  sent  by 
a  powerful  Armenian,  to  get  out  ship  timber  for  govern- 
ment, from  a  mountain  forest,  in  the  midst  of  rain  and 
snow.  He  was  a  weakly  man,  and  wholly  unaccustomed 
to  such  hard  work  ;  and,  no  doubt,  would  have  perished, 
had  not  the  Turks,  who  saw  his  weakness,  befriended  and 
released  him.  A  priest,  who  showed  friendliness  to  the 
evangelical  men,  had  his  beard  shaved  off;  which  was 


180  INSTANCES    OP    PERSECfJTION. 

the  greatest  disgrace  they  could  fix  upon  him,  in  the 
estimation  of  the  people.  An  individual,  who  sold  our 
publications  was  put  in  the  stocks.  Four  or  five  of  the 
brethren  were  carried  off  to  the  Convent  of  Armash,  and 
there  imprisoned,  merely  because  they  would  not  conform 
to  the  superstitions  of  the  Church.  As  soon  as  this  was 
known,  four  or  five  more  went,  of  their  own  accord,  to 
the  same  place,  and  surrendered  themselves  up,  saying, 
"  "We  are  of  the  same  sentiments  with  these  men,  and  we 
wish  to  share  in  their  trials."  They  were  accordingly 
imprisoned.  In  the  Armenian  village  of  Kurdbeleng, 
where  there  were  several  "  G-ospel  readers,;"  the  head 
ruler  of  the  community,  who  was  a  banker,  instigated  by 
the  chief  priest,  procured  a  Turkish  police  officer  from  a 
neighboring  place,  and  after  making  him  drunk,  set  him 
to  beating  the  Protestants,  which  he  did  with  a  heavy 
stick,  in  so  unmerciful  a  manner,  that  one  of  them 
nearly  died.  It  should  be  recorded  in  this  place,  that  this 
same  banker  was  afterwards  assassinated  in  his  own 
house,  by  a  man  hired  for  the  purpose  by  some  personal 
enemies,  and  encouraged  to  the  deed  by  the  same  chief 
priest,  who  had  instigated  the  persecution  of  the  Pro- 
testants. So  did  Grod  follow  with  judgments  the  oppres- 
sors of  his  people ! 

One  of  the  brethren  at  Nicomedia  was  called  away 
from  his  earthly  labors  during  the  month  of  October, 
1845.  He  was  strong  and  joyful  in  the  Lord,  even  to  the 
very  last,  and  talked  very  cheerfully  with  his  friends  of 
dying,  and  going  to  be  with  Christ.  During  this  year, 
several  Englishmen,  with  their  families,  took  up  their 
abode  in  Nicomedia,  having  been  procured  from  England 
by  the  government,  to  superintend  a  woollen  factory  near 


DEATH    OF    MUGURDICH    AND    SARKIS.  181 

that  place.  Very  providentially,  the  superintendent,  Mr. 
Binns,  and  his  brother,  with  their  wives,  were  devoted 
Christian  people,  of  the  Baptist  persuasion,  and  their 
influence  was  highly  salutary.  The  native  brethren  were 
much  comforted  by  their  presence,  and  were,  in  several 
instances,  substantially  relieved  in  times  of  persecution 
and  distress.  And  during  a  long  interval,  when  the 
watchful  enemy  would  not  suffer  the  Protestants  to  meet 
in  any  other  place  for  worship,  Mr.  Binns's  house  was 
kindly  opened  to  them  for  this  purpose. 

The  Smyrna  station  was  called  to  part  with  two  very 
valuable  assistants  in  the  department  of  translation.  The 
first  was  Mr.  Mugurdich  Tovmasian,  a  very  useful  trans- 
lator, but  especially  active  and  successful  in  personal 
conversation  with  individuals  on  the  subject  of  religion. 
He  died  in  Constantinople,  and  his  last  words  were,  "  I 
know  that  I  am  a  great  sinner ;  but  I  think  I  can  say, 
my  Saviour  is  mine  and  I  am  his."  The  second  was 
Mr.  Sarkis,  one  of  the  best  scholars  among  his  people, 
and  the  third  individual  in  Constantinople  whose  heart 
the  Lord  touched,  at  the  beginning  of  the  work  among 
the  Armenians.  ''  I  know  that  I  am  a  great  sinner," 
said  he,  in  his  last  moments,  "  but  he  is  a  greater 
Saviour."  These  precious  dying  testimonies  of  the 
power  of  the  Gospel,  are  the  same  in  all  countries,  and  in 
all  ages  of  the  world  ! 

A  vartabed,  from  Tarsus,  called  upon  Mr.  Adger,  and 
expressed  the  greatest  interest  in  the  books  that  had 
come  into  his  hands  in  that  distant  place,  from  our  press. 
His  mind  was  evidently  much  awakened.  The  Arme- 
nian service  in  Smyrna  was  attended  by  from  ten  to  six- 
teen persons  at  the  close  of  the  year,  1845,  and  some 


182  MR.    VAN    LENNEP    VISITS    TOCAT. 

minds  were  active  and  earnest  in  searching  after  the  true 
way  of  salvation.  The  Rev.  Joel  S.  Everett  joined  this 
station,  with  his  wife,  in  the  spring  of  1845.  They  were 
afterwards  removed  to  Constantinople,  to  be  connected 
with  the  Armenian  Female  Seminary,  in  which  field  they 
are  still  laboring. 

Tocat  was  visited  by  Mr.  Van  Lennep,  of  the  Constan- 
tinople station,  and  an  urgent  desire  was  expressed  by  a 
few  evangelical  men,  for  a  missionary  to  be  located  per- 
manently there.  A  spirit  of  inquiry  seemed  to  be  gene- 
rally diffused  among  the  Armenians  both  in  the  towns 
and  throughout  the  adjacent  country.  "  The  harvest 
truly  was  plenteous,  but  the  laborers  were  few." 


1 


CHi\PTER     IX. 

Relations  of  the  Evangelical  Armenians  to  the  Church — Their  Duties  to  the 
Civil  Community— The  Patriarch  a  Civil  Officer — The  Protestants  Obedient 
to  the  Powers  that  be — New  Method  of  Coercion — Anathema  of  Priest 
Vertanes — Denunciation  of  the  Patriarch — Temporal  Penalties  inflicted — 
Fanaticism  triumphant — Second  Anathema — Paper  of  Recantation — Patri- 
arch's new  Creed — Instances  of  Oppression — Bread  and  Water  Withheld 
from  Protestants — Signature  to  the  New  Creed — Interview  between  INIr. 
Khachadfirian  and  the  Patriarch — God  supporting  his  People — Estimate 
Placed  upon  the  Gospel — Visitors  Increase  by  Persecution — Letter  to  the 
Patriarch — Do.  to  the  Primates — Petition  to  Reshid  Pasha — Do.  to  the 
Foreign  Ambassadors — Four  Individuals  Imprisoned — Attempt  to  Banish 
Protestants — Religious  Liberty  Proclaimed  by  the  Government — Release 
of  the  Prisoners — All  Protestants  Calumniated — False  Witnesses — Shelter 
Procured  for  the  Houseless— Kindness  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Allen — Generous 
Contributions. 

Hitherto,  the  Evangelical  Armenians  had  remained 
members  of  the  ecclesiasti  co-civil  community  in  which 
they  were  born.  They  lived  in  different  degrees  of  con- 
formity with  the  requisitions  of  the  Church,  according  to 
the  amount  of  light  they  had,  and  their  readiness  to 
endure  reproach  and  suffering  for  Christ's  sake.  Some 
absented  themselves  entirely  from  the  public  services  in 
their  churches,  feeling  that  to  be  present  where  there  was 
so  much  of  superstition  and  idolatry,  was  virtually  to 
sanction  what  their  consciences  condemned.    Others  were 


184      RELATIONS    OF    INDIVIDUALS    TO    THEIR    CHURCHES. 

occasionally  present  to  hear  a  sermon,  though  they  made 
it  a  point  to  retire  from  the  other  parts  of  the  service. 
Others  still,  chiefly  those  who  were  only  intellectually 
convinced  of  the  truth,  were  as  regular  in  the  external 
observance  of  the  forms  of  Armenian  religion  as  custom 
required  ;  and,  it  should  be  mentioned,  that  previous  to 
the  Protestant  movement,  a  great  diversity  had  existed 
in  this  respect,  in  the  practice  of  different  individuals,  and 
there  had  never  been  in  the  Armenian  Church  any  of 
that  rigor  in  enforcing  ecclesiastical  rules  and  observ- 
ances, which  so  characterizes  the  Church  of  Rome. 

According  to  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  Turkish 
empire,  every  individual  of  its  Christian  subjects  must 
be  enrolled  in  some  one  of  the  existing  communities, 
having  a  Patriarch  at  his  head.  To  secede  from  one 
body,  in  order  to  join  another,  had  repeatedly  been  for- 
bidden by  the  Sultan,  and  was  always  attended  with 
danger ;  although  Papal  diplomacy  and  Papal  gold  had 
often  atoned  for  the  offence,  where  the  secession  was  to 
the  Papal  faith..  To  detach  oneself  from  one  community 
without  coming  into  connection  with  any  other,  was  equi- 
valent to  a  renunciation  of  every  civil  right  and  privilege, 
and  necessarily  exposed  the  individual  to  all  the  evil 
consequences  of  complete  outlawry.  To  make  this  fully 
understood,  it  will  be  necessary  to  enter  somewhat  into 
detail. 

In  the  city  of  Constantinople,  as  well  as  in  other  large 
towns  in  Turkey,  each  trade  is  incorporated,  and  its 
affairs  are  regulated  by  a  committee  consisting  of  a  small 
number  of  the  most  wealthy  and  powerful  individuals  in 
the  business  ;  and  no  person  is  permitted  to  open  a  shop, 
without  a  license  from  this  committee.      Frequently,  a 


THE    PATRIARCH    A    CIVIL    OFFICER.  185 

single  individual,  who^may  be  called  the  presiding  officer, 
has,  in  practice,  if  not  in  form,  the  whole  matter  of 
granting,  and  withholding  licenses  in  his  own  hands.  A 
Turkish  officer  presides  over  all  the  trades,  whose  official 
sanction  is  necessary  to  give  force  and  effect  to  the  doings 
of  the  trade  committees.  Every  journeyman,  and  ap- 
prentice even,  must  be  furnished  with  a  permit,  to  show 
to  the  Turkish  police  officers,  whenever  he  is  challenged 
in  the  streets,  and  if  he  fails  to  produce  one,  he  is  liable 
to  be  thrown  into  prison,  as  a  disorderly  man  and  a 
vagrant.  On  taking  out  these  licenses,  each  individual 
is  required  to  give  two  or  more  sureties,  for  good  conduct, 
and  the  Patriarch  is  held  as  general  surety  for  the  whole 
community.  It  will  soon  appear  what  facilities  were 
afforded,  by  these  arrangements,  to  the  persecutor  to 
pursue  his  work  with  impunity,  and  even  under  the 
broad  shield  of  the  law.  The  particular  object,  at 
present  in  view,  however,  is  to  illustrate  the  true  nature 
and  effect  of  a  voluntary  withdrawal  from  the  existing 
communities  in  Turkey.  Take,  for  example,  the  Arme- 
nian community,  as  that  is  the  one  with  which  we  have 
now  chiefly  to  do.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  in  the 
eye  of  the  Turkish  law,  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Patriarch 
is  a  civil  jurisdiction,  and  this  is  properly  the  light  in 
which  he  is  viewed  by  his  own  people.  Ecclesiastically, 
as  has  already  been  explained,  he  is  only  a  bishop,  having 
really  no  more  power  in  the  church  than  any  other  bishop 
in  the  land.  But,  as  Patriarch,  he  is  superior  to  all  the 
bishops,  and  this  distinction  has  been  conferred  upon  him 
by  the  Turkish  government,  or,  in  other  words,  it  is  a 
merely  civil  supremacy.  His  functions  may  be  dis- 
charged by  a  priest,  or  even    a  layman,  as   indeed  they 


186  NEW    METHOD    OF    COERCION. 

sometinies  have  been.  If,  now,  the  evangelical  Arme- 
nians had  at  any  time  declared  that  they  no  longer 
acknowledged  the  authority  of  the  Patriarch,  as  there 
was  then  no  Protestant  community  recognized  in  Turkey, 
it  would  have  been  tantamount  to  civil  rebellion,  and 
they  would  have  been  dealt  with  as  outlaws.  In  spirit- 
ual matters,  those  who  were  decided  among  them,  care- 
fully abstained,  as  has  been  stated,  from  all  participation 
in  superstition  and  idolatry.  They  attended  regularly 
upon  the  ministry  of  the  piissionaries,  and  sat  down  at 
the  table  of  the  Lord  with  us,  as  guests ;  because  they 
could  neither  profitably  nor  conscientiously,  unite  in 
this  service  at  the  Armenian  Church.  They  retained 
connection,  however,  with  their  own  people,  and  generally 
cherished  the  hope,  amounting  in  some  cases  to  a  strong 
expectation,  that  by  degrees,  the  great  body  of  the  Arme- 
nians would  come  over  to  the  evangelical  faith,  and  thus 
a  serious  rupture  be  avoided.  The  Patriarch  Matteos,  by 
his  own  act,  effectually  cut  them  off  from  this  hope  as 
will  now  be  narrated. 

The  means  hitherto  employed  for  extirpating  Protest- 
antism, had  signally  failed  of  success.  In  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1846,  therefore,  the  Patriarch  resolved  to 
enter  at  once  upon  more  coercive  measures.  The  first  sub- 
ject selected  for  the  new  experiment,  was  Priest  Vertanes, 
whose  zealous  and  persevering  labors  for  the  spread  of 
pure  Christianity,  were  doubly  odious  on  account  of  his 
being  a  member  of  the  priesthood,  and  who  had  already 
been  twice  banished  for  his  religion.  One  of  the  Patri- 
arch's beadles  was  sent  to  his  lodgings,  together  with  the 
chief  municipal  officer  of  the  Armenians  in  that  quarter, 
in  order  to  arrest  him.     The  owner  of  the  house,  who 


PRIEST    VERTANES    ANATHEMATIZED.  187 

was  friendly  to  his  lodger,  though  not  himself  a  Protest- 
ant, did  not  scruple  to  tell  a  falsehood,  declaring  that 
Vertanes  was  absent,  and  thus  sent  the  officers  away. 
The  priest  made  his  escape,  the  same  night,  to  another 
part  of  the  city,  where  he  remained  for  several  weeks, 
concealed  in  the  house  of  a  friend. 

On  Sunday,  Jan.  25,  after  the  usual  morning  services 
in  the  patriarchal  church  were  finished,  the  house  was 
darkened  by  extinguishing  the  candles,  and  the  great  vail 
was  drawn  in  front  of  the  main  altar,  and  a  bull  of  ex- 
cision and  anathema  was  solemnly  read  againt  Priest 
Vertanes,  including  all  the  followers  of  the  "  modern 
sectaries."  This  beloved  brother,  who  had  already 
suffered  much  for  his  conscientious  attachment  to  the 
G-ospel  of  Christ,  was  styled  by  the  Patriarch  "  a  con- 
temptible wTctch,"  who,  "  following  his  carnal  lusts"  had 
forsaken  the  Church  and  was  going  about  as  a  "  vagabond," 
"  babbling  out  errors,"  and  being  an  "  occasion  of  stum- 
bling to  many."  He  was  said  to  be  "  a  traitor,  and  mur- 
derer of  Christ,  a  child  of  the  devil,  and  an  offspring  of 
Antichrist,  worse  than  an  infidel  or  a  heathen,"  for 
teaching  "  the  impieties  and  seductions  of  modern  sec- 
taries (Protestants)."  "  Wherefore,"  says  the  Patriarch, 
*'  we  expel  him  and  forbid  him  as  a  devil,  and  a  child  of 
the  devil,  to  enter  into  the  company  of  believers.  We 
cut  him  off  from  the  priesthood,  as  an  amputated  member 
of  the  spiritual  body  of  Christ,  and  as  a  branch  cut  off 
from  the  vine,  which  is  good  for  nothing  but  to  be  cast 
into  the  fire.  By  this  admonitory  bull,  I  therefore  com- 
mand and  warn  my  beloved  in  every  city,  far  and  near, 
not  to  look  upon  his  face — regarding  it  as  the  face  of 
Belial ;  not  to  receive  him  into  your  holy  dwellings  ;  for 


188  THE    PATRIARCH  S    DENUNCIATIONS. 

he  is  a  house-destroying  and  ravening  wolf;  not  to  re- 
ceive his  salutation,  but  as  a  soul-destroying  and  deadly 
poison  ;  and  to  beware,  with  all  your  households,  of  the 
seducing  and  impious  followers  of  the  false  doctrine  ot 
the  modern  sectaries  (Protestants)  ;  and  to  pray  for  them 
to  the  God  who  remembereth  not  iniquity,  if  perchance 
they  may  repent  and  turn  from  their  wicked  paths,  and 
secure  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  through  the  grace  ot 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  blessed  for 
ever.     Amen."*' 

Nor  were  these  the  mere  words  of  an  antique  form, 
uttered  in  obedience  to  custom,  but  in  reality  regarded 
as  obsolete.  If  the  language  of  the  form  was  severe,  the 
language  of  the  accompanying  popular  harangue  was 
still  more  so.  The  bull  of  excision  and  anathema  was 
followed  by  a  violent  denunciatory  discourse  from  the 
Patriarch,  against  all  the  Protestants  in  general,  and  the 
priest  in  particular,  which  called  forth  many  loud  "  amens^^ 
from  the  inflamed  people. 

On  the  following  day  the  greatest  activity  prevailed 
among  the  priests,  in  every  part  of  the  city  and  suburbs. 
All  moved  like  the  different  parts  of  a  machine,  as  if  by 
one  impulse,  and  it  was  not  difficult  to  trace  the  direc- 
tion from  which  that  impulse  had  come.  The  resolute 
Patriarch  was  determined  not  to  trust  merely  to  the  im- 
pression made  upon  the  people  by  the  anathema,  and  his 
accompanying  denunciations  on  the  preceding  day.  He 
therefore  issued  orders  to  his  clergy  to  see  that  the  tem- 
poral penalties  threatened  in  that  instrument  be  immedi- 
ately inflicted  to  the  very  letter.  One  command  had  been 
given  to  all,  and  the  priests  went  forth  simultaneously 

*  For  the  Anathema  in  full,  see  Appendix  A. 


TEMPORAL    PENALTIES    INFLICTED.  189 

to  their  work, — most  of  them  apparently  with  good- 
will, but  some  reluctantly,  their  sympathies  being  with 
the  innocent  victims  of  oppression,  rather  than  with  the 
oppressor.  The  Armenian  heads  of  all  the  trade  corpora- 
tions in  the  city  were  commanded  to  withdraw  their 
countenance  from  all  Protestants  who  would  not  recant. 
The  keepers  of  khans  and  the  owners  of  houses,  were 
ordered  to  eject  all  lodgers  and  tenants  who  would  not 
comply  with  this  condition.  Families  were  also  visited 
by  the  priests,  wherever  any  one  lived  who  was  suspected 
of  heresy,  and  it  was  enjoined  upon  them  to  expel  the 
offending  member,  or  separate  from  it,  even  though  it 
were  a  son  or  daughter,  brother  or  sister,  husband  or 
wife.  The  Protestant  brethren  were  summoned  to  repaii 
immediately  to  the  Patriarchate  in  order  publicly  to  re- 
cant and  become  reconciled  to  the  Church.  To  give  force 
to  the  whole,  the  threat  was  issued  that  all  who  refused 
to  aid  in  carrying  out  these  measures  against  the  "  new 
sectaries,"  should  themselves  be  anathematized. 

A  wild  spirit  of  fanaticism  now  reigned.  Before  it,  all 
sense  of  right,  all  regard  to  truth  and  justice,  all 
"  bowels  of  mercies"  vanished  away.  Even  the  strong 
and  tender  affection  subsisting  between  husbands  and 
wives,  brothers  and  sisters,  parents  and  children  was,  in 
some  instances,  exchanged  for  the  cruel  and  relentless 
hate  of  the  persecutor.  The  very  constancy  of  the  people 
of  God  provoked  still  more  the  wrath  of  their  enemies. 
Their  readiness  to  suffer  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  their 
goods  was  considered  as  a  proof  that  large  temporal 
rewards  had  been  offered  them  by  the  missionaries  ;  and 
their  unwavering  fidelity  to  Christ  was   interpreted  into 

obstinacy.     Some  on  the  side  of  the  Church,  who  at  first 

9* 


190  SECOND    ANATHEMA. 

were  signally  wanting  in  zeal,  in  furthering  the  Patri- 
arch's violent  measures,  were  stimulated  into  active  per. 
secutorsj  by  what  appeared  to  them,  in  their  religious 
indifferentism,  as  mere  stubbornness  on  the  part  of  the 
Protestants. 

The  leading  men  in  the  different  trade  corporations, 
showed  more  resoluteness  than  any  other  class,  in  attempt- 
ing to  force  the  evangelical  brethren  to  a  compliance 
with  the  Patriarch's  demands ;  and  they  could  urge 
motives  more  potent  than  almost  any  other  of  a  worldly 
nature.  Whatever  method  of  coercion  was  resorted  to, 
whether  by  priests  or  people,  it  was  everywhere  publicly 
declared  to  be  by  the  express  command  of  the  Patriarch 
Matteos. 

During  the  week  after  the  first  anathema  was  read, 
although  many  were  forcibly  driven  from  their  houses,  and 
shops,  and  prevented  from  doing  business  to  support  them- 
selves and  families,  and  some  were  expelled  from  the  pater- 
nal roof,  and  otherwise  afflicted,  yet  not  one  was  induced 
to  recant.  On  the  following  Sabbath,  the  passions  of  an 
ignorant  and  superstitious  people  were  still  more  inflamed 
by  a  second  anathema,  which,  like  the  first,  was  read  in 
all  the  churches,  and  accompanied  by  the  most  violent 
denunciations  from  the  Patriarch,  the  bishops,  and  the 
vartabeds.  In  this  bull  it  was  declared  that  not  only 
the  "  cursed  nonentity,  Yertanes,"  "  falsely  called  priest," 
was  anathematized  by  the  "holy  Church,"  but  like- 
wise "all  that  were  of  his  sentiments."  They  were 
together  pronounced  to  be  "  accursed,  and  excommuni- 
cated, and  anathematized,  by  Grod,  and  by  all  his  saints, 
and  by  us,"  that  is,  Matteos  Patriarch.  "  Wherefore,'* 
he  says,  "  whoever  has  a  son  that  is  such  an  one,  or  a 


PAPER    OF    RECANTATION.  191 

brother,  or  a  partner,  (in  business)  and  gives  hira  bread, 
or  assists  him  in  making  money,  or  has  intercourse  with 
him  as  a  friend,  or  does  business  with  him,  let  such 
persons  know  that  they  are  nourishing  a  venomous  ser- 
pent in  their  houses,  which  will  one  day  injure  them  with 
its  deadly  poison,  and  they  will  lose  their  souls.  Such 
persons  give  bread  to  Judas.  Such  persons  are  enemies 
of  the  Holy  faith  of  Christianity,  and  destroyers  of  the 
holy  orthodox  Church  of  the  Armenians,  and  a  disgrace 
to  the  whole  nation.  Wherefore,  their  houses  and  shops 
also  are  accursed  ;  and  whoever  goes  to  visit  them,  we 
shall  learn,  and  publish  them  to  the  Holy  Church,  by 
terrible  anathemas. "^'^ 

The  spirit  of  exasperation  now  knew  no  bounds.  One 
after  another,  the  brethren  were  summoned  before  the 
Patriarch,  or  the  local  ecclesiastical  authorities  of  their 
particular  quarter  of  the  city,  and  required  to  sign  a 
paper  of  recantation,  on  penalty  of  being  "terribly  ana- 
thematized," which  involved  their  being  deprived  of  all 
business  and  treated  as  outlaws.  The  first  paper  pre- 
sented for  their  signature  was,  in  substance,  a  confession 
that  under  "  the  wicked  enticements  of  Satan"  they  had 
*'  separated  from  the  spotless  bosom  of  the  Holy  Church," 
and  joined  the  "  impious  sect"  of  the  Protestants  ;  which 
now  they  saw  to  be  "  nothing  else  but  an  invention  of 
arrogance,  a  snare  of  Satan,  a  sect  of  confusion,  a  broad 
road  which  leadeth  to  destruction."  Wherefore  repenting 
of  their  "  impious  deeds,"  they  fled  for  pardon  "  to  the 
bosom  of  the  holy  and  immaculate  Armenian  Church," 
and  confessed  that  "  her  faith  is  spotless,  her  sacraments 
divine,  her  rites  of  apostolic  origin,  her  ritual  pious  ;"  and 

*  Appendix  B. 


192  INSTANCES    OF    OPPRESSION. 

promised  to  receive  "  whatever  this  same  holy  Church 
receivethj  whether  it  be  a  matter  of  faith  or  ceremony," 
and  "to  reject  with  anathemas,"  "whatever  doctrine  she 
rejects."* 

This  first  paper  not  being  sufficiently  explicit  to  suit 
some  of  the  persecuting  party,  another  was  drawn  up  in 
the  form  of  a  creed,  which  all  were  required  to  subscribe, 
as  the  only  condition  of  being  restored  to  the  favor  of  the 
Patriarch,  that  is,  to  their  civil  privileges.  This  creed 
contained  substantially  all  the  errors  of  Popery.  It 
acknowledged  that  good  works  justify  a  man  as  well  as 
faith  ;  that  the  Church  is  infallible  ;  that  there  are  seven 
sacraments  ;  that  baptism  by  water,  and  private  confes- 
sion to  a  priest  are  essential  to  salvation  ;  that  the  soul 
of  one  dying  without  full  penance  for  his  sins,  is  after 
death,  purified  by  the  prayers  of  the  Church,  by  the 
bloodless  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  and  by  the  alms-giving  of 
his  friends  ;  that  the  bread  and  wine  of  communion  are 
the  true  Ijody  and  blood  of  Christ ;  that  Mary  is  the 
mother  of  God,  that  "  the  holy  anointed"  material  crosses 
are  worthy  of  adoration,  as  also  relics  and  pictures;  that 
the  intercession  of  the  saints  is  acceptable  to  Grod ;  and 
that  the  Patriarchs  rule  the  Church  as  Christ's  vicege- 
rents. It  also  required  those  who  subscribed  it  to  join  in 
anathematizing  all  who  call  the  worship  of  the  holy  cross, 
and  of  relics  and  pictures,  idolatry,  and  who  reject  the 
ceremonies  of  the  Church  as  superstitious.! 

These  two  papers,  the  first  having  -been  commonly 
called,  The  Paper  of  Recantation,  and- the  second.  The 
Patriarch  Matteos's  New  Creed,  by  whomsoever  they  have 
been  written,  were  issued  under  the  high  authority  of  the 

*  Appendix  C.  f  Appendix  D. 


THE  patriarch's  NEW  CREED.  J  93 

Patriarch  himself,  and  sent  by  him  throughout  the 
country  for  the  signature  of  the  Protestants.  In  Smyrna, 
in  Nicomedia,  in  Adabazar,  in  Trebizond,  and  in  Erzrura, 
the  evangelical  brethren  were  summoned  before  their 
respective  ecclesiastical  rulers,  and  presented  with  identi- 
cally the  same  creed,  which,  they  were  told,  had  been 
received  from  the  Patriarch,  and  which  they  were  required, 
by  his  command,  to  sign. 

One  individual,  a  very  respectable  merchant  who  was 
in  partnership  \vith  his  father-in-law,  was  driven  from  his 
shop,  and  separated  also  from  his  wife  and  children,  and 
defrauded  of  his  property  for  refusing  to  yield  to  these  re- 
quisitions of  the  Patriarch.  Another,  who  was  in  the  silk 
business,  was  summoned  before  the  Patriarch,  who,  when 
he  found  no  signs  of  repentance,  so  far  forgot  himself,  as 
to  address  this  brother  with  rude  and  angry  profaneness ; 
and,  declaring  that  he  and  all  like  minded  with  him  were 
accursed,  he  drove  him  away.  The  individual  returned 
to  his  shop,  but  was  soon  followed  by  a  beadle  from  the 
Patriarch,  who  summoned  his  partner  before  this  digni- 
tary. The  partner  was  required  forthwith  to  dissolve  all 
connection  with  the  heretic,  which  fear  led  him  to  do 
without  delay.  Since  the  shop  and  most  of  the  capital 
belonged  to  the  partner,  our  brother  was  at  once  reduced 
to  circumstances  of  the  deepest  distress.  As  a  still  fur- 
ther act  of  coercion,  the  Patriarch  sent  for  his  father,  and 
enjoined  it  upon  him  to  drive  his  own  son  from  home, 
and  deprive  him  of  his  inheritance.  This  command  in 
substance,  was  afterwards  committed  to  writing,  and 
addressed  to  a  priest,  under  the  Patriarch's  own  seal,  two 
other  sons  being  now  included  in  it.  The  following 
9 


194  INSTANCES    OF    OPPRESSION. 

is  a  literal  translation  of  the  original,  which  fell  into  my 
hands  : — 

"My  beloved  Priest. — This  Khachadiir,  a  penitent, 
has  said  '  I  have  sinned,'  and  promised  to  confess  to  you. 
and  to  commune  in  the  bosom  of  our  Church.  But  his 
three  sons,  (one  of  whom  was  the  silk  merchant)  are  im- 
penitent and  hardened  in  iniquity.  If  they  come  to  the 
house  of  their  father,  he  is  not  to  receive  them,  and  he  is 
not  to  retain  them  as  his  heirs ;  but  let  them  be  stripped 
of  their  inheritance,  if  they  do  not  turn  from  their 
wickedness.     Farewell." 

January  18,  (0.  S.)   1846,  At  the  5     Matfeos     5 

Patriarchate  of  the  Armenians  (Sealed)  "^  % 

Constantinople.  ^  Patriarch.  W 

Two  individuals  from  the  interior,  both  of  whom  were 
quiet  and  peaceable  citizens,  and  in  regular  and  honest 
employment,  were  seized  by  order  of  the  Patriarch,  and 
handed  over  to  the  Turkish  police,  as  criminals,  and  sent 
off,  against  their  will,  to  their  distant  homes.  A  pass- 
port was  given  to  each  by  the  head  of  the  police,  in  which 
it  was  expressly  stated,  that  the  individual  bearing  it 
was  represented  "  by  a  written  communication  from  the 
Patriarch,  as  having  been  going  about  as  a  vagabond  in 
Constantinople,  and  been  guilty  of  improper  conduct." 
The  original  passports  afterwards  came  into  our  posses- 
sion. 

Two  brothers,  who  were  partners  in  business,  were 
summoned,  first  before  a  council  consisting  of  a  vartabed 
and   four   priests,  and   afterwards    before    the    Patriarch 


INSTANCES    OF  OPPRESSION.  195 

himself,  and  required  to  say  whether  they  would  yield  to 
the  demands  of  the  Church  or  not.  On  their  answering 
that  they  received  whatever  the  Gospel  teaches,  and 
rejected  all  the  rest,  they  were  rudely  driven  away.  On 
the  following  Sabbath  both  were  anathematized,  by 
name,  and  all  persons  were  forbidden  to  trade  at  their 
shop.  An  Armenian,  who  was  a  faithful  son  of  the 
Church,  now  made  an  arrangement  to  purchase  from 
them  their  whole  stock  of  goods,  and  carry  on  the  busi- 
ness in  the  same  place  ;  but  the  Patriarch  interdicted 
this  also,  declaring  that  both  the  shop  and  goods  were 
under  anathema,  and  whoever  should  attempt  to  sell 
goods  there  should  be  anathematized. 

A  furrier  was  brought  before  the  heads  of  his  trade,  fif- 
teen in  number,  and  told  that  by  the  Patriarch's  order,  they 
had  called  him  to  say,  that  if  he  wished  to  continue  his 
business,  he  must  accompany  them  to  the  Patriarchate 
to  confess  his  sins,  and  promise  hereafter  to  conform  to 
the  rites  and  rules  of  the  Church.  The  individual  replied 
that  he  was  not  aware  that  he  had  committed  any 
offense  against  the  Patriarch,  and  he  knew  not  what  he 
had  to  confess.  To  this  they  replied.  It  is  reported  that 
you  are  a  Protestant ;  that  is,  you  do  not  receive  the 
saints  as  mediators,  nor  practice  the  ceremonies  of  our 
Church.  Answer,  I  am  an  Armenian  by  birth,  and  a 
Christian  by  faith.  I  receive  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments  as  my  guide,  and  I  acknowledge 
nothing  that  is  contrary  to  their  testimony.  Then,  said 
they,  you  are  anathematized,  and  henceforth  we  can 
neither  salute  you,  nor  receive  your  salutation,  nor  can 
we  have  any  business  transactions  with  you.  And 
orders  were  immediately  circulated  to  all  the  shopkeepers 


196  INSTANCES    OF    OPPRESSION. 

around,  that  no  one  would  be  permitted  to  trade  with 
him,  since  he  was  under  anathema.  His  priest  also  pro- 
hibited the  baker,  who  was  an  Armenian,  from  supplying 
him  with  bread,  and  he  was  thrown  into  the  greatest  dis- 
tress. 

A  pious  watchmaker  was  carried  to  the  Patriarchal 
Church,  and  there  reprimanded  by  a  priest  for  having 
"  invented  a  new  sect."  The  watchmaker,  asked,  if 
reading  the  Grospel  of  Christ  was  inventing  a  new  sect  ? 
The  priest  said  that  he  did  not  wish  long  to  continue  the 
conversation,  as  he  was  very  busy  ;  but,  said  he,  what 
answer  do  you  give  ?  Will  you  receive  the  rites  and  cere- 
monies of  the  Church,  confess  to  the  priest,  and  partake  of 
the  communion  or  not  ?  If  not  I  will  report  you  to  the 
Patriarch.  The  individual  replied  that  he  could  not 
assent  to  all  that  the  Church  taught,  and  that  the  priest 
might  do  as  he  liked  about  reporting  him  to  the  Patriarch. 
A  few  days  afterwards,  the  watchmaker  was  summoned 
before  the  chief  men  of  his  trade,  who  informed  him  that 
a  note  had  come  from  the  Patriarch,  saying,  that  there 
were  Protestants  in  their  trade  whom  they  must  look 
after,  and  they  wished  to  know  if  he  was  one  of  them. 
The  brother  replied  that  he  followed  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament  as  his  guide  in  matters  of  reli- 
gion. They  answered.  It  is  not  necessary  that  you  should 
talk  about  that  now.  "What  we  want  to  know  is, 
whether  you  receive  the  religion  taught  by  the  Patriarch, 
(alluding  of  course  to  the  new  creed)  which  some  are  not 
satisfied  with  ?  Ans.  No.  Quest.  What  are  you  ? 
Ans.  1  am  an  Armenian.  Quest.  Are  you  obedient  to 
the  Patriarch  ?  Ans.  Yes,  I  obey  him  as  a  civil  ruler, 
set  over  us  by  the  Sultan,  to  regulate  our  worldly  affairs. 


INSTANCES    OP    OPPRESSION.  197 

Quest.  That  is  not  our  meaning.  Do  you  acknowledge 
him  as  your  religious  teacher  ?     Ans.  No. 

Upon  this  they  informed  our  brother  that  the  Patriarch 
would  no  longer  be  surety  for  him,  and  he  must  procure 
another  surety,  or  shut  up  his  shop.  He  soon  brought 
them  a  good  and  substantial  man  as  surety,  but  as  he 
also  was  one  of  the  evangelical  brethren,  his  suretyship 
was  not  received.  And  as  no  Armenian  who  was  not  a 
decided  evangelical  man,  dared  to  offer  himself  as  surety, 
for  fear  of  the  threatened  anathema,  the  poor  watchmaker 
was  thrown  out  of  business. 

A  priest  called  upon  one  of  the  Protestants,  and  asked 
him  whether  it  was  his  purpose  to  attend  the  Church  ser- 
vices. Ans.  For  what  purpose  shall  I  go  to  the  Church, 
— to  worship  the  pictures  ?  Priest.  Yes  ;  it  is  your  duty 
both  to  worship  the  pictures  and  to  confess  to  a  priest 
your  sins,  and  to  be  obedient  to  the  Patriarch.  Ans.  I  am 
obedient  to  the  Patriarch,  but  not  to  his  superstitions. 
Priest.  I  am  Christ's  vicegerent,  and  you  are  bound  to 
confess  to  me  ;  and  as  for  the  worship  of  pictures,  it  is 
written  in  my  Grospel,  if  not  in  yours,  that  they  are  to  be 
worshipped.  Ans.  Show  me  your  Gospel  in  w^hich  it  is 
thus  written. 

Instead  of  complying  with  this  reasonable  request,  the 
priest  began  to  curse  and  swear  at  the  brother,  and  drove 
him  from  his  own  hired  house,  at  the  same  time  com- 
manding the  owner  to  throw  his  furniture  into  the  street 
that  very  day,  if  it  was  not  voluntarily  removed.  His 
family  was  also  driven  out  by  force,  and  obliged  to  seek 
shelter  in  the  house  of  a  relative. 

The  above  cases  are  narrated  merely  as  specimens  of 
the  method  generally  pursued  at  this  time,  to  force  the 


198  BREAD    AND    WATER    WITHHELD. 

evangelical  brethren  to  a  reconciliation  with  the  Church. 
Nearly  forty  individuals,  in  this  way,  had  their  shops 
closed  and  their  licenses  to  trade  taken  away,  and  were 
thereby  prevented  from  laboring  for  an  honest  livelihood. 
Nearly  seventy  were  obliged  to  leave  father,  mother, 
brother,  sister,  husband,  wife,  or  child,  for  Christ's  sake  ; 
and  were  forced  by  the  Patriarch's  orders  from  their  own 
hired  houses,  and  sometimes  even  from  houses  owned  by 
themselves.  In  order  to  increase  their  distress,  bakers 
were  repeatedly  and  stringently  ordered  not  to  furnish  them 
with  bread,  and  water-carriers,  to  cut  off  their  supply  of 
water.  As  multitudes  of  families  in  the  metropolis  de- 
pend entirely  upon  the  latter  for  all  the  water  they  use, 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  water-carriers  are  notoriously 
bigoted  Armenians,  this  measure  operated  with  great  se- 
verity, as  may  easily  be  conceived,  and  it  was  a  trial  most 
difficult  to  bear. 

Many,  who  were  thrown  out  of  business,  were  compelled 
to  dissolve  partnerships,  and  to  bring  their  accounts  to  a 
forced  settlement,  which  involved  their  entire  ruin.  And 
the  greatest  activity  prevailed  among  the  Patriarch's 
agents,  to  ascertain  where  debts  were  due  from  any  of  the 
anathematized  to  a  faithful  son  of  the  Church  ;  and  the 
latter,  however  reluctant  he  might  be  personally  to  dis- 
tress his  friend,  was  compelled  to  urge  an  immediate  set- 
tlement. In  short,  there  was  displayed  the  greatest  in- 
genuity in  inventing  various  refined  methods  of  afflicting 
the  people  of  G-od,  so  as  if  possible  to  "  compel  them  to 
blaspheme."  Little  business  was  done  at  the  Patriarchate 
except  to  conduct  the  persecution.  Priests,  clerks  of  the 
trading  corporations,  and  keepers  of  the  public  khans, 
vvere  continually  arriving  with  reports  of  the  success  or 


SIGNATURES    TO    THE    NEW    CREED.  199 

failure  of  the  various  schemes  devised  for  reducing  the 
rebellious  Protestants  to  obedience  ;  and  were  going  aw^ay 
again  with  fresh  instructions.  Large  numbers  of  sus- 
pected Protestants  were  carried  before  the  Patriarch,  and 
urged  to  submit  to  the  Church  and  sign  the  creed.  Al- 
though many  boasts  were  made  of  the  long  list  of  signa- 
tures that  had  been  procured,  it  was  still  a  fact  that  only 
four  or  five  of  those  who  were  previously  known  to  the 
missionaries  as  decidedly  evangelical  in  sentiment,  were 
led  to  give  in  their  adhesion  to  the  Patriarch  ;  and  they 
almost  immediately  renounced  the  forced  confession  they 
had  made,  and,  returning  to  the  Protestants,  were  ana- 
thematized with  the  rest.  Several  thousands  had  heard 
the  missionaries  preach,  or  from  curiosity  had  visited  them, 
once  or  twice  perhaps,  who  never  had  the  least  connection 
with  them,  or  the  evangelical  brethren.  It  was  well  as- 
certained that  the  names  of  many  of  these  were  affixed  to 
the  paper  of  recantation  and  the  creed ;  and  thus  a  some- 
w^hat  plausible  pretext  was  furnished  for  boasting,  though 
without  just  ground. 

At  one  time,  the  Patriarch  called  before  him  several  of 
the  leading  men  among  the  Protestants,  and  endeavored 
to  win  them  by  soft  words,  and  reason  them  into  obedience 
to  the  Church.  When  he  found  that  they  could  outreason 
him,  he  said  rather  petulantly,  ''  What  is  the  use  of  your 
talking  ?  I  only  called  you  to  sign  this  paper.  If  you 
cannot  do  it  you  may  go,  and  the  next  Sabbath  you  will 
all  be  anathematized."  One  of  the  number,  however,  he 
retained  for  a  more  private  conversation.  This  was  Mr 
Apisoghom  Khachadurian.  After  all  the  attendants  pre- 
sent had  been  removed,  the  Patriarch,  with  a  great  show 
of  kindness  and  interest,  entreated  our  brother  to  yield  to 


200  MR.    KHACHADURIAN    AND    THE    PATRIARCH. 

the  demands  of  the  Church,  for  the  sake  of  peace.  "  Let 
me  know,"  said  he,  "  how  much  you  receive  as  a  salary 
from  those  men  (meaning  us),  and  I  will  pledge  myself  to 
secure  more  for  you,  if  you  will  only  come  over  to  our 
side."  Ap.  Khachadurian  begged  the  Patriarch  not  to  pain 
his  feelings  again  by  addressing  to  him  any  such  motives, 
which,  in  a  matter  of  such  deep  and  solemn  moment, 
were  worthy  of  no  consideration. 

The  Patriarch  then  said  :  "  If  you  will  only  come  back 
to  us,  you  may  retain  your  own  private  opinions  and  no- 
body shall  molest  you  ;  only  you  must  remain  silent  and 
not  speak  of  your  sentiments  to  others.  Why  should  you 
preach  ?  you  are  no  priest." 

K.  I  cannot  return  on  any  such  conditions.  It  is  every 
man's  duty  to  speak  so  far  as  he  understands  the  Grospel, 
and  try  to  enlighten  his  neighbors  in  things  pertaining  to 
salvation. 

Patriarch.  But,  if  the  evangelical  men  are  permitted  to 
remain  quietly  in  the  Church  on  such  conditions,  the  time 
is  not  distant  when  they  will  make  the  whole  Church 
evangelical. 

K.  And  what  if  they  should  ?  Would  it  be  a  calamity 
to  our  people  to  receive  the  Word  of  G-od  as  a  body,  and 
endeavor  to  follow  it  ?  You  well  know  that  this  is  the 
way  of  the  truth.  You  know  that  you  yourself  con- 
fessed this  to  me  some  years  ago.  The  course  you  are 
now  pursuing  will  be  destructive  to  our  nation.  I  well 
understand  your  motive.  You  have  been  charged  with 
being  a  Protestant,  and  you  are  seeking  to  wipe  this  blot 
from  your  name  ;  but  have  you  not  already  done  enough  ? 
Surely  everybody  must  be  convinced  by  this  time  that  you 
are  an  Armenian  and  no  Protestant.     Desist,  I  beseech 


GOD    ST/i'PORTING    HIS    PEOPLE.  201 

you,  from  this  work  in  which  you  are  engaged  ;  for  your 
own  sake,  I  beseech  you  desist :  otherwise  it  may  result 
in  something  very  bad  for  you. 

Patriarch.  Why  ?  what  will  they  (meaning  the  mis- 
sionaries) do  unto  me  ? 

K.  They  will  do  nothing  to  you,  but  your  own  nation 
will,  if  you  go  on  in  this  way. 

This  conversation  continued  for  some  time,  and  the 
Patriarch's  conscience  seemed,  for  the  moment,  to  be 
touched  by  our  brother's  faithful  and  earnest  appeals,  and 
he  looked  very  sober  and  thoughtful.  He  requested  Mr. 
Khachadurian  to  call  again  after  two  days,  which  he  ac- 
cordingly did,  but  was  not  received.  A  vartabed  was 
sent  to  say,  that  if  he  continued  of  the  same  mind  as  be- 
fore, the  Patriarch  did  not  wish  to  see  him  ;  and  on  the 
following  Sabbath  he  was  publicly  anathematized  in  all 
the  churches. 

Nothing  could  be  more  evident  than  that  the  suffering 
brethren  had  special  grace  given  them  from  above,  to  en- 
able them  to  bear  as  they  did  these  severe  trials.  Driven 
from  their  houses  and  shops,  their  families  and  friends, 
and  having  no  certain  dwelling-place  ;  and  many  of  them 
reduced  to  penury  ;  subject  to  constant  insult  in  the 
streets,  and  sometimes  to  personal  injury  ;  and  having 
every  reason  to  apprehend  persecution  in  still  more  violent 
forms,  they  yet  exhibited  a  calm  and  quiet  spirit  of  en- 
durance, a  readiness  to  suffer  the  loss  of  all  for  Christ,  and  4 
a  peace  and  joy  in  the  midst  of  their  sufferings,  which 
could  be  accounted  for  only  on  the  supposition,  that  Grod 
was  with  them  in  very  deed.  One,  who  in  fact  spoke  the 
feelings  of  many,  said  one  day  to  a  missionary  :  "My 
daily  prayer  to  God  is,  that  even  if  there  should  not  be 
9* 


202  ESTIMATE    PLACED    UPON    THE    GOSPEL. 

left  a  single  person  except  myself  to  witness  for  the  truth, 
He  would  still  give  me  faith  to  stand  firm  for  the  doctrine 
of  salvation  by  grace  in  Christ  alone.  I  know  that  all  the 
resistance  we  now  make  to  error,  we  are  making  for 
coming  generations.  We  may  never  reap  the  fruits  our- 
selves, but  our  exercise  of  firmness  and  faith  now,  will 
enable  thousands,  and  perhaps  millions,  in  after  days  to 
enjoy  the  rights  of  conscience  in  pure  and  holy  worship." 
There  was  satisfactory  evidence  that  this  dear  brother  was 
in  the  habit  of  spending  many  hours  daily  in  prayer  for 
himself  and  his  brethren,  as  well  as  for  the  whole  Arme- 
nian community. 

Another  brother,  to  whom  an  offer  of  upwards  of  twenty 
thousand  piastres  (about  one  thousand  dollars)  was  made 
by  a  rich  friend,  on  condition  that  he  would  conform  to 
the  Church,  replied  :  "  If  you  knew  anything  of  the  value 
of  the  G-ospel,  or  the  preciousness  of  faith  in  Christ,  you 
would  not  have  thought  to  influence  me  either  by  a  thou- 
sand, or  a  hundred  thousand  dollars." 

Many  of  whom  we  had  known  but  little,  were  led  by 
the  violent  measures  of  the  ecclesiastical  powers  to  take  a 
decided  stand  for  the  truth  ;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  most 
violent  ragings  of  the  enemy,  our  houses  and  our  room  in 
the  Khan*  were  more  than  ever  thronged  with  visitors, 
and  our  preaching  services  were  not  only  not  diminished 
in  numbers,  but  new  hearers  were  found  present  every 
Sabbath. 

Soon  after  the  first  anathema,  the  persecuted  brethren 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  Patriarch,  explaining  their  reli- 
gious sentiments,  and  asking  that  whatever  error  was 

*  This  was  a  place  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  kept  for  the  reception  of  visi- 
tors. 


LETTER  TO  THE  PATRIARCH.  203 

found  therein  might  be  specifically  pointed  out,  and  at  the 
same  time  humbly  entreating  him  to  deliver  them  from 
the  persecutions  they  were  suffering.  After  declaring 
their  faith  in  the  Trinity,  and  in  Christ  as  the  only  Sa- 
viour of  the  world.  High  Priest,  Mediator,  Intercessor,  and 
Head  of  his  Church,  and  their  reception  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  as  the  perfect  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  they 
added,  "  How  can  we  receive  those  requirements  which 
are  contrary  to  the  rule  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  are 
expressly  forbidden  with  anathema  ?  And  for  our  not  re- 
ceiving things  not  taught  in  the  Bible,  will  you  call  us 
obstinate  and  rebellious,  enemies  of  our  nation  and  de- 
stroyers of  our  Church  ?  We  have  no  such  design,  but 
can  use  the  language  of  Paul  to  the  Romans  (Rom.  ix.  3). 
We  love  our  nation  to  such  a  degree,  that  we  glory  in  being 
called  Armenians.  We  are  Armenians  by  nation.  Chris- 
tians by  faith,  and  obedient  subjects  of  the  Ottoman  Gov- 
ernment. Nevertheless,  if  in  religious  matters  we  be  in 
error  (for  we  do  not  claim  to  be  infallible),  we  will  gladly 
receive  it,  if  you  will  point  out  to  us  our  error.  You  well 
know  that  the  conviction  of  the  human  mind  is  effected 
only  by  the  presentation  of  truth,  not  by  the  exercise  of 
force  ;  and,  in  the  fear  of  Grod,  we  can  do  nothing  against 
our  consciences." 

This  letter  failing  to  produce  any  effect,  they  subse- 
quently addressed  one  to  the  primates  of  the  Armenian 
community.  No  one,  however,  appeared  disposed  to  ad- 
vocate their  cause  ;  and  their  letter  being  treated  by  some 
with  cold  indifference,  and  by  others  with  marked  con- 
tempt, and  their  temporal  afflictions  increasing  from  day 
to  day,  they  at  length  presented  a  petition  for  relief  to 
Reshid  Pasha,  Turkish  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.     This 


204  FOUR    INDIVIDUALS    IMPRISONED. 

paper  contained  a  clear  and  dignified  statement  of  their 
grievances ;  all  of  which  were  justly  ascribed  to  the 
agency  of  the  Patriarch,  who,  they  said,  not  satisfied  with 
simply  excommunicating  and  anathematizing  them,  "  or- 
dered all  his  flock,  and  the  chiefs  of  the  trades^,  and  of  the 
different  quarters  of  the  city,  and  also  the  priests,  under 
penalty  of  excommunication  and  anathemas,  to  oppress 
and  injure  them  in  various  ways."  And,  in  the  end,  they 
begged  that  His  Excellency  would  "  order  the  Patriarch 
to  withdraw  his  oppressive  hand."  This  petition  was 
treated  with  respect ;  but,  owing  to  the  influence  of  some 
of  the  Armenian  primates,  it  procured  no  relief.  Subse- 
quently, a  letter  was  addressed  by  the  persecuted  brethren 
to  the  English,  Prussian,  and  American  Ministers,  asking 
for  the  influence  of  these  high  public  functionaries  to 
procure  their  release  from  present  suffering,  and  the  guar- 
antee of  their  civil  rights.  The  kindest  interest  was  taken 
in  their  case  by  the  liberal-minded  and  humane  gentlemen 
who  occupied  these  posts,  and  repeated  efforts  were  made 
to  procure  for  them  exemption  from  suffering  ;  but  the 
persecution  still  went  on.  Three  watchmakers  were  cast 
into  prison  by  the  Turkish  superintendent  of  trades,  at  the 
instigation  of  the  Patriarch's  party,  on  the  plea  that  they 
were  without  licenses  to  trade,  and  without  sureties. 
Another  individual  was  thrown  into  the  jail  without  even 
so  faint  a  pretext  as  this.  They  were  kept  in  confinement 
some  weeks,  although  every  effort  was  made  for  their  re- 
lease. When  the  head  men  of  the  trade  were  inquired  of 
by  officers  from  the  Porte,  as  to  the  reasons  for  the  con- 
finement of  these  individuals,  the  reply  was  that  it  had  no 
connection  with  business,  but  was  an  affair  of  the  Patri- 
arch.    "When  the  Patriarch  was  questioned  on  the  subject, 


RELIGIOUS    LIBERTY    PROCLAIMED.  205 

he  declared  that  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  it,  but  that  it 
was  altogether  an  affair  of  the  trade !  Nobody  was  will- 
ing to  assume  the  paternity  of  the  measure,  and  yet  the 
prisoners  were  not  released.  And,  in  the  meantime,  they 
were  incessantly  urged  to  submit  to  the  Patriarch,  and 
assured  that  if  they  would  subscribe  to  his  creed,  they 
should  be  immediately  set  at  liberty. 

There  was  evidently  a  connivance  of  some  of  the 
Turkish  authorities  in  this  thing,  and  the  Patriarch  was 
so  much  encouraged  by  his  success,  thus  far,  that  he  sent 
to  the  Porte  the  names  of  thirteen  leading  men  among 
the  Protestants,  requesting  their  banishment.*  The 
reply  of  the  Porte  was  fatal  to  his  plans.  The  substance 
of  it  was,  that  having  adopted  the  principle  of  freedom  of 
conscience,  they  could  not  banish  men  for  imputed  reli- 
gious errors.  The  fact  was,  the  English  ambassador.  Sir 
Stratford  Canning,  had  already  been  urging  upon  the 
attention  of  the  Turkish  ministry,  the  pledge  given  three 
years  before  by  the  Sultan,  that  henceforth  there  should 
be  no  more  persecution  for  religious  opinion  in  Turkey; 
and,  in  accordance  with  the  true  spirit  of  this  pledge,  it 
was  now  decided  that  the  persecution  of  the  evangelical 
Armenians  could  not  be  allowed.  The  humane  endea- 
vors of  the  American  charge,  Mr.  Brown,  and  subse- 
quently of  the  American  minister,  Mr.  Carr,  and  also 
of  the  Prussian  minister,  Mr.  Le  Coq,  contributed  essen- 
tially to  bring  about  this  happy  issue.     A  petition  from 

*  This  fact  was  stated  at  the  time,  in  a  French  paper  printed  in  Constan- 
tinople, called  the  Moniteur  Ottoman,  in  which  are  officially  published  the 
doings  of  the  government.  This  paper  is,  in  fact,  partly  supported  by  the 
Turkish  government,  to  secure  it  as  an  official  organ,  and  everything  that 
appears  in  it  is  carefully  revised  by  a  censor  appointed  by  the  go^'ernment 
for  that  purpose. 

10 


206  PROTESIANTS  CALUMNIATED. 

the  suffering  brethren,  directly  to  the  Sultan  himself,  no 
doubt,  had  its  share  of  influence.  By  the  agency  of  Sir 
Stratford,  Reshid  Pasha,  summoned  before  him  the  Patri- 
arch, and  charged  him  to  desist  from  his  persecuting 
course.  The  same  high  authority  also  ordered  the  imme- 
diate release  of  the  four  prisoners.  They  were  permitted 
to  become  sureties  for  one  another,  a  method  of  getting 
over  the  alledged  legal  difficulties,  which  had  again  and 
again  been  proposed  by  the  brethren  themselves,  but  in 
vain. 

The  persecution  began  the  last  week  in  January,  and 
it  was  now  past  the  middle  of  March,  and  during  the 
whole  of  this  interval,  the  Protestants  had  struggled  in 
vain,  until  this  moment,  to  procure  their  civil  and  social 
rights.  As  regularly  as  the  Sabbath  came  round,  the 
Armenian  churches,  in  and  around  the  capital,  rung  with 
anathemas  against  all  the  followers  of  the  "new  sect." 
None  were  more  violent  in  their  public  addresses  than  the 
Patriarch  himself,  who  seemed  determined  that  the  ex- 
cited passions  of  an  uninformed  and  bigoted  populace 
against  the  so  called  "  infidels"  and  "  atheists,"  should 
not  subside,  so  long  as  he  could  find  fuel  to  feed  the 
flame.  The  most  foolish  calumnies,  in  regard  to  the 
religious  views  and  practices  of  the  Protestants,  were 
uttered  from  all  the  pulpits,  and  even  published  in  books 
under  the  Patriarchal  sanction.  In  one  of  the  latter, 
having  the  imprimatur  of  the  Patriarch  upon  the  title 
page,  it  was  coolly  asserted  of  the  whole  Protestant 
Church,  that  it  formally  approves  of  polygamy,  adultery, 
and  theft,  and  sanctions  rebellion  against  the  civil  powers  ! 
With  such  examples,  and  such  untiring  eflbrt  on  the 
part  of  their  spiritual  leaders,  in  the  use  of  means  like 


SHELTER  PROCURED  FOR  THE  HOUSELESS.      207 

these,  to  stimulate  the  fanatical  feelings  of  the  people,  it 
was  not  strange  that  our  brethren  could  not  pass  through 
the  streets  without  being  abused  by  the  most  filthy- 
language,  and  even  spit  upon  and  stoned. 

The  fact  that  a  large  number  were  early  forced  to 
leave  their  houses,  has  already  more  than  once  been 
alluded  to.  In  one  instance,  two  or  three  families  were 
driven  into  the  streets  at  midnight,  for  no  other  crime 
than  that  they  refused  to  assent  to  the  Patriarch's  symbol 
of  faith.  This,  however,  was  not  the  ostensible  reason 
held  forth  to  the  Turkish  authorities.  These  families 
were  living  together  under  one  roof,  and  the  charge  of 
keeping  a  disorderly  and  infamous  house  was  brought 
against  them,  and  easily  substantiated  by  false  witnesses, 
any  number  of  whom  can  always  be  hired  in  Turkey. 
In  other  similar  cases,  the  owner  of  the  house  was  put 
forward  as  the  active  mover  in  the  matter,  although  he 
was  often  the  unwilling  instrument  of  some  ecclesiastical 
oppressor.  Grreat  care  was  taken,  particularly  after  it 
was  known  that  the  foreign  ambassadors  were  keeping  an 
eye  on  all  these  proceedings,  not  to  exceed,  if  possible, 
the  bounds  of  the  law  ;  so  that  when  even  as  many  as 
three  score  and  ten  men,  women,  and  children,  who  had 
refused  to  bow  the  knee  in  idolatry,  had  been  sent  to 
wander  houseless  in  the  streets,  it  was  still  declared  that 
there  was  no  persecution  ! 

To  us,  however,  it  was  known  that,  for  the  faith  of 
Christ,  they  were  driven  out,  and  for  the  love  of  Christ 
we  could  not  refuse  to  take  them  in.  Their  miseries 
seemed  to  appeal  through  us  to  our  more  favored  brethren 
of  other  lands,  and  remembering  that  all  true  believers 
are  one  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  that  whatever  is  done  to 


208  GENEROUS    CONTRIBUTIONS. 

relieve  even  the  least  of  his  disciples,  is  reckoned  as 
having  been  done  for  him,  we  could  not  hesitate  as  to  our 
duty.  Very  providentially,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Allan,  mission- 
ary to  the  Jews,  from  the  free  Church  of  Scotland,  had,  a 
short  time  previously,  secured  a  large  house,  with  refer- 
ence to  a  preaching  place,  as  well  as  a  dwelling  for  his 
family  ;  and,  with  true  Christian  sympathy  and  gener- 
osity, he  opened  his  doors  for  the  oppressed.  Twenty 
individuals  of  the  persecuted,  found  a  very  comfortable 
lodging-place  there.  For  the  rest,  we  hired  such  tene- 
ments as  could  be  found,  at  the  same  time  providing  the 
starving  with  bread,  while  they  were  cut  off  from  all 
means  of  procuring  their  own  subsistence.  A  statement 
was  drawn  up  of  the  grievous  things  that  had  befallen  our 
brethren  in  Turkey,  accompanied  by  an  appeal  to  evan- 
gelical Christians  throughout  the  world  for  sympathy  and 
aid ;  and  the  generous  contributions  that  flowed  in  from 
all  quarters  of  the  globe,  wherever  the  story  had  gone, 
and  pious  hearts  were  found,  showed  how  strong  a  bond 
of  union  is  the  love  of  Christ.  Letters  of  the  tenderest 
Christian  sympathy  were  received,  accompanied  by  dona- 
tions for  the  sufferers,  from  every  Protestant  country  in 
Europe,  from  England,  Malta,  and  India,  as  well  as  from 
our  own  native  land  ;  and  in  this  spontaneous  movement 
-$  in  behalf  of  the  persecuted  people  of  God,  denominational 
distinctions  were  forgotten.  Nearly  or  quite  live  hundred 
dollars  were  contributed  by  foreign  Protestant  residents 
upon  the  ground,  who  naturally  felt  the  more  deeply,  be- 
cause they  were  personal  spectators  of  the  sufferings  they 
were  called  upon  to  relieve. 

Nor  can  I  close  the  present  chapter  without  alluding  to 
another  instance  in  which  Grod  signally  brought  good  out 


GOOD    OUT    OF    EVIL.  209 

of  evil.  In  Constantinople,  the  evangelical  brethren 
lived  at  great  distances  apart,  being  scattered  over  an 
area  of  eight  or  ten  miles  in  diameter,  so  that  they  could 
rarely,  if  ever,  come  together  ;  and  the  consequence  was, 
that  but  few  were  well  acquainted  with  each  other.  "We 
had  long  felt  this  to  be  an  evil,  but  knew  not  how  to 
remedy  it.  Being  driven  from  their  homes  by  the  perse- 
cution, they  lived  for  many  weeks  in  the  places  of  shelter 
provided  for  them  by  the  hand  of  charity,  and  these  were 
almost  in  one  neighborhood.  The  same  cause  had  also 
excluded  them  from  business  ;  so  that  they  had  abun- 
dance of  time,  as  they  had  of  opportunity,  to  cultivate 
each  other's  acquaintance.  Often  did  they  come  together 
for  prayer  and  praise ;  indeed,  most  of  their  time  was 
spent  in  this  way,  so  that  the  period  of  their  exclusion 
from  their  homes,  was  like  a  protracted  meeting,  extending 
through  several  weeks  ;  the  effects  of  which  were  seen  at 
once,  in  the  deeper  interest  felt  for  one  another,  and  the 
strong  bond  of  union  that  was  formed  ;  and  the  fruits  of  it 
remain  to  this  day. 


*.#    *■ 


• 


CHAPTER      X. 

Duplicity  of  the  Patriarch— Encouraged  by  Bishop  Southgate— The  Evan- 
gelical Brethren  calumniated — The  Patriarch  defended — Violence  in 
Nicomedia — God  hearing  the  Cries  of  the  Oppressed— Priest  HarAtun  in 
Persecution — His  Letter  to  the  Bishop — Shameful  Treatment  in  Church — 
His  Imprisonment — Accumulation  of  Indignities — His  Joy  in  God — 
Mournful  Fall  of  other  Brethren— Their  Return— Steadfastness  of  Believers 
in  Adabazar — Mr.  Van  Lennep's  Visit — The  Enemy  stimulated  afresh — 
Grievous  Trials — Prevailing  Spirit  of  Persecution— Outrages  upon  Two 
Brothers  in  Trebizond — Faithful  Endurance — Young  Man  scourged  and 
imprisoned — Intervention  of  British  Consul — Bishop  of  Erzrum  banished 
— Bodily  Inflictions — The  Persecutors  checked — All  Eyes  turned  to  th€ 
Capital — Sir  Stratford  Canning — Religious  Liberty  for  the  Protestants — 
The  Patriarch's  Cunning — First  Imperial  Document  in  Behalf  of  Protest- 
ants— Hostility  a  Blessing  to  the  Seminary — Removal  to  Constantinople 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Everett — Standing  and  perpetual  Curse — Plan  of  Church 
Organization — An  Evangelical  Church  constituted — Ordination  of  first 
Pastor — His  Character — Public  Declaration  of  the  Protestants — Churches 
formed  in  Nicomedia,  Adabazar,  and  Trebizond — Mohammedans  befriend 
the  Persecuted. 

The  Patriarch  had  now  received  such  lessons  from  high 
quarters,  as  greatly  to  modify  his  expectations  of  putting 
down  Protestantism  by  force ;  and  he  was  even  com- 
pelled reluctantly,  to  issue  public  orders  to  his  clergy,  in 
certain  cases,  against  persecution  ;  though  it  is  known 
that  secret  instruction?  were,  at  the  same  time  given  of 
a  contrary  nature. 


COURSE    OF    BISHOP    SOUTIIGATE.  211 

And  here  it  becomes  necessary  briefly  to  refer  to  other 
influences  that  were  at  work,  which  essentially  aided  and 
encouraged  this  high  dignitary  in  his  schemes.  Very 
early  in  the  persecution,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Horatio  Southgate, 
Missionary  Bishop  of  the  American  Episcopal  Church,  to 
the  Ottoman  Empire  and  its  dependencies,  appeared 
before  the  public  as  a  sympathizer  with  the  Patriarch. 
During  all  the  consultations  at  the  Patriarchate,  in  this 
exciting  period,  he  claims  to  have  been  a  privileged  coun- 
selor "  behind  the  scenes."  What  counsel  he  gave  in  one 
instance,  he  himself  has  informed  the  world.  It  was 
before  any  public  steps  had  been  taken,  that  the  Patriarch 
sought  from  him  advice  in  the  case  of  Priest  Yertanes, 
who  was  accused  of  heresy,  and  of .  having  been  laboring 
for  some  years  to  divide  the  Armenian  Church.  What 
should  be  done  with  such  a  character  ?  Bishop  South- 
gate  says,  that  he  ''  recommended  moderate  and  gentle 
measures  as  long-  as  practicable.''^^  And  after  the  bull 
of  excision  came  out  against  this  godly  Christian  priest, 
the  bishop  says,  "he  did  not  doubt  the  sentence  was 
just."t  What  was  the  nature  and  bearing  of  his  counsel 
in  other  cases,  can  only  be  known  inferentially  from 
his  own  declarations.  He  has  not  hesitated,  however,  to 
avow  publicly,  that  all  his  sympathies  were  on  the  Patri- 
arch's side,  and  against  the  anathematized  ;  nor  to  use 
his  influence  to  prevent,  if  possible.  Christians  in  England 
and  America  from  having  a  fellow-feeling  for  their  suffer- 
ing brethren  in  Turkey,  so  as  to  send  them  relief.  The 
spirit  of  inquiry  which  has  so  characterized  the  Armenian 
Church,  he  ascribed  chiefly  to  "  the  influx  of  European 

*  Christian  Witness  and  Church  Advocate,  May  15,  1846.         t  Ibid. 


212      BELIEVERS    CALUMNIATED PATRIARCH    DEFENDED. 

knowledge,  and  the  revolutionary  sentiments  of  European 
rationalism,"*  and  to  the  works  of  Volney  and  Yoltaire  ; 
and  with  such  views  of  the  origin  of  this  "new  sect,"  it 
was  not  strange,  that  when  the  distress  that  came  upon 
them  by  the  persecuting  acts  of  the  Patriarch,  were  first 
made  known  to  the  world,  he  should  testify,  over  his  own 
signature,  that  they  were,  in  general,  only  "  infidels  and 
radicals,"t  who  deserved  no  sympathy  from  the  Christian 
public. 

Of  the  Patriarch  he  declares,  that  "  he  is  a  man  of 
mild  and  conciliatory  disposition  ;"  "  has  exercised  exem- 
plary patience  with  them  all;"!  "  has  imposed  no  condi- 
tions that  involve  the  sanction  of  existing  corruptions ;" 
"  has  granted  all  that  the  most  scrupulous  conscience 
could  rightly  demand  ;"  "  has  not  gone  beyond  the  proper 
limits  of  ecclesiastical  discipline;^  that  all  statements 
against  him  are,  "  without  exception,  gross  fabrications," 
and  that  "  a  more  unjust  assault  upon  a  Christian  Patri- 
arch he  hoped  never  to  witness." II 

Bishop  S.  further  said,  that  he  "  never  met  with  an 
instance  of  more  unjustifiable  separation  from  a  Church 
than  were  the  secessions  which  led  to  the  act  of  excom- 
munication," and  that  "  it  would  be  far  better  if  all  the 
seceders  would  return  to  the  quiet  performance  of  reli- 
gious duty,  in  the  Church  in  which  they  were  baptized ;" 
and  he  hopes  they  will  be  all  brought  back. "IF 

How  much  of  countenance  and  support  a  man  in  his 
position,  entertaining  such  views  and  feelings,  gave  to  the 

*  Christian  Witness  and  Church  Advocate,  May  8,  1850. 

t  Church  and  State  Gazette  (English),  March,  1846. 

X  Christian  Witness  and  Church  Advocate,  May  15,  1846. 

^  Ibid.,  May  15,  1846.       1|  Ibid.,  June  26,  1846.     ^  Ibid.,  June  26,  1846. 


VIOLENCE    IN    NICOMEDIA.  213 

Patriarch,  in  his  efforts  to  crush  the  people  of  God  in 
Turkey,  the  judgrr  3nt  day  alone  will  disclose.  The 
author  of  this  narrat  ive  feels  that  his  duty  is  discharged, 
by  thus  transcribing  in  this  place,  the  record  made  of 
Bishop  Southgate's  sentiments  and  acts,  by  his  own 
hand,  in  the  public  journals  of  his  Church. 

Printed  copies  of  the  Patriarch's  two  anathemas  were 
sent  to  every  part  of  Turkey,  to  be  read  in  all  the 
churches.  In  Nicomedia,  the  reign  of  violence  very  soon 
commenced.  A  young  mechanic,  who  was  prominent 
among  the  Protestants,  and  who  once,  under  the  pressure 
of  persecution,  had  gone  back  to  the  idolatrous  ceremonies 
of  the  Church,  but  soon  after  repented  of  his  deed,  was 
selected  as  the  first  victim.  He  was  publicly  excommu- 
nicated by  name,  and  driven  by  force  from  his  shop,  and 
also  from  his  family.  Some  advised  to  exile  him  ;  but 
the  bishop  fearing  to  take  the  responsibility  of  this  step, 
sent  him,  under  guard,  to  the  Patriarch  at  Constantinople. 
The  man  who  had  charge  of  him  was  required  to  carry 
him  back  again,  the  Patriarch  merely  saying,  "  Tell  the 
bishop  that  I  have  heaped  upon  him  one  excommunica- 
tion more."  He  was  now  ordered  by  the  Armenian 
authorities  to  leave  the  town,  as  being  unfit  to  live  in 
any  other  way  than  as  a  vagabond.  For  several  weeks 
he  found  shelter  in  the  Turkish  coffee  houses,  the  Mus- 
sulmans treating  him  with  a  kindness  which  he  could 
nowhere  find  among  his  own  kindred  and  people.  One 
day  he  ventured  to  go  to  his  father's  house  to  see  his 
wife  and  children,  and  for  this  crime  alone,  he  received 
fifteen  blows,  with  a  stick,  on  his  bare  feet,  by  order  of 
the   chief  primate  of  the  town.     This  man  had  wealth 

and   influence,  and   could   inflict  such  cruelties  without 
'lO* 


214  PRIEST    HARUTUN    IN    PERSECUTION. 

fearing  to  be  called  to  an  account  by  any  of  his  fellows. 
But  the  cries  of  the  oppressed  and  persecuted  go  up  to 
the  ears  of  the  great  King  of  kings,  who  knows  how  to 
vindicate  his  people,  and  take  vengeance  on  their  oppres- 
sors. Not  many  months  afterwards,  this  same  rich  man 
was  thrown  from  a  horse,  and  he  received  a  fracture  of 
the  skull,  which  soon  terminated  his  life.  Subsequently, 
his  splendid  mansion  was  consumed  by  fire,  and  a  large 
amount  of  property  destroyed. 

Priest  Harutun  was  the  next  who  was  called  to  pass 
the  fiery  ordeal  of  persecution.  He  was  one  of  the  two 
priests  with  whom  the  work  of  spiritual  regeneration  be- 
gan in  Nicomedia.  He  was  an  extremely  modest  and 
timid  man,  and  for  some  time  had  been  living  in  open 
conformity  with  the  rites  of  his  church,  though  secretly 
he  was  as  true  a  friend  of  the  Grospel  as  ever.  In  this  he 
had  struggled  against  his  own  convictions,  as  well  as  the 
advice  and  entreaties  of  his  brethren  ;  but,  although  he 
freely  acknowledged  that  he  was  doing  wrong,  yet  it  was 
not  so  easy  for  him  to  make  up  his  mind  to  do  right. 
Grod  had  reserved  persecution  as  a  means  of  bringing  him 
to  this  decision. 

The  Bishop  of  Nicomedia,  who  was  none  other  than  the 
mild  and  inoffensive  ex-patriarch  Stepan — now  transformed 
into  a  furious  persecutor — required  the  priest  to  write  a 
confession  of  his  faith  to  be  read  publicly  in  the  church, 
in  order  to  satisfy  the  people — many  of  whom  were  suspi- 
cious of  him — that  he  was  a  true  and  faithful  son  of  the 
Armenian  Church.  With-  this  requisition  the  priest  com- 
plied, though  the  document  was  far  from  giving  satisfac- 
tion  to  his  superior.  He  expressed,  in  clear  and  compre* 
hensive  language,  his  belief  in  the  Bible  and  its  doctrines  • 


SHAMEFUL  TREATMENT  IN  CHURCH.         215 

and  appended  to  this  confession  of  his  faith  a  letter  to  the 
bishop,  couched  in  the  most  respectful  terms,  declaring 
that  whatever  the  Church  receives  and  teaches  that  is  ac- 
cording to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  he  also  received,  but,  in 
the  fear  of  G-od,  he  could  acknowledge  nothing  contrary  to 
this  standard.  And  he  closed  by  saying,  ^'  In  regard  to 
your  Reverence's  wish  that  I  would  write  a  paper  of  re- 
cantation according  to  your  pleasure,  Grod  forbid  that  I 
should  write  anything  through  fear  of  others,  or  to  secure 
their  favor.  If  I  had  done  so  I  should  have  been  a  denier 
of  the  true  faith,  and  an  infidel  ;  an  enemy,  a  despiser,  a 
decayed  member  of  the  holy  Church  of  Christ,  which  he 
hath  purchased  with  his  own  blood.  But,  blessed  be  G-od, 
by  confessing  and  believing  in  the  true  faith,  and  by 
preaching  the  holy  G-ospel,  I  remain  a  faithful  son  and  a 
true  minister  of  the  Church  of  Christ ;  and  I  have  hope 
that,  through  the  Holy  Spirit,  I  shall  remain  faithful  even 
unto  death,  and  that  I  shall  enjoy  through  eternity  the 
promised  rest.  And  finally,  whatever  violence,  punish- 
ment, or  disgrace  are  prepared  for  me,  I  am  ready  to  re- 
ceive with  love  and  joy,  for  the  love  and  glory  of  G-od." 

This  document  filled  his  enemies  with  rage.  On  the 
following  Sabbath  this  brother  was  taken  to  the  Church, 
where  the  bishop  publicly  read  his  Confession,  and  imme- 
diately pronounced  him  excommunicated  and  accursed. 
The  priests  violently  tore  from  his  shoulders  his  clerical 
robes,  and  with  boisterous  shouts  cried,  "  Drive  out  the 
accursed  on€)  from  the  Church."  The  excited  rabble  now 
fell  upon  him,  and  with  many  kicks  and  blows  thrust  him 
into  the  street.  He  received  all  these  indignities  with  the 
greatest  meekness,  and  returned  to  his  house,  "  counting 


216  ACCUMULATION    OF    INDIGNITIES. 

it  all  joy  that  he  was  found  worthy  to  suffer  for  the  name 
of  Jesus." 

This,  however,  is  not  the  end  of  the  story.  The  bishop 
afterwards  sent  a  paper  of  recantation  (which  was  an  ab- 
breviation of  the  Patriarch's  first  paper,  slightly  altered) 
for  priest  Harutun  to  sign,  on  refusing  which,  by  an  easy 
artifice,  he  was  thrown  into  prison.  It  was  ascertained 
that  he  owed  several  small  sums  of  money  to  different  in- 
dividuals. These  debts  were  all  bought  up  by  the  leading 
primate  of  the  place,  whose  subsequent  sudden  death  has 
already  been  alluded  to,  and  immediate  payment  was  re- 
quired for  all.  Being  unable  to  meet  the  demand,  as  was 
well  known  beforehand,  he  was  put  in  confinement,  qc- 
cording  to  law.  After  lying  in  prison  thirteen  days,  he 
was  conducted  by  a  soldier  to  the  bishop's  palace,  where 
the  Patriarch's  creed  was  offered  to  him  for  signature. 
"When  it  was  found,  after  much  urging,  that  he  would  by 
no  means  comply  with  this  condition,  he  was  told  that, 
by  the  Patriarch's  order,  his  beard  must  be  cut  off.  Among 
the  people  of  the  East,  no  greater  indignity  can  be  put 
upon  a  man,  and  especially  upon  a  priest.  Nevertheless 
he  replied,  "  For  the  wonderful  name  of  Christ  1  am  ready, 
God  helping  me,  to  submit  to  this,  and  even  to  shed  my 
blood,  if  that  shall  be  the  will  of  the  Lord."  A  barber 
was  called  in,  and  not  only  his  beard,  but  every  particle 
of  hair  from  his  head  was  shaved  off;  so  that,  as  the 
priest  expressed  it,  "  not  a  single  hair  was  left,  from  his 
neck  to  the  crown  of  his  head."  They  cast  his  clerical 
cap,  which  they  had  torn,  into  a  filthy  corner  of  the  street, 
together  with  the  hair.  The  boys  now  fastened  the  beard 
to  the  end  of  a  long  pole,  upon  which  they  also  placed  the 
disfigured  and  tattered  fragments  of  the  cap,  and  paraded 


HIS    JOY    IN    GOD.  217 

it  through  all  the  wards  of  the  city,  shouting,  ''  Heads 
out  !  behold  the  cap  of  the  accursed  Harutun,"  &c.  He 
was  afterwards  sent  back  to  prison  with  the  soldier.  On 
leaving  the  gate  of  the  bishop's  palace,  he  found  an  im- 
mense mob  of  men,  women,  and  children  assembled  for 
the  purpose  of  mocking  and  insulting  him  as  he  passed 
along.  He  was  not  permitted  to  take  the  direct  way  to 
the  prison,  but  they  conducted  him  by  a  circuitous  route, 
apparently  for  the  purpose  of  prolonging  his  sufferings,  the 
mob  continually  following  him,  spitting  at  him,  and  in- 
sulting him  with  the  most  opprobrious  and  filthy  language. 
He  wrote  soon  after  to  a  brother,  "  I  entered  the  prison 
with  a  joyful  heart,  committing  myself  to  Grod,  and  giving 
glory  to  him  that  he  had  enabled  me  to  pass  through  fire 
and  sword,  and  had  brought  me  to  a  place  of  repose." 

The  Turkish  commander  of  the  prison,  evidently  moved 
by  pity  in  view  of  what  had  happened  to  this  unoffending 
man,  immediately  released  him.  To  avoid  the  rabble, 
who  were  still  gathered  in  small  companies  in  different 
parts  of  the  public  streets,  he  passed  through  a  Turkish 
burying-ground,  and  reached  his  own  house  unobserved.  It 
was  the  Sabbath-day,  and  he  says,  "  Being  delivered  from 
the  hands  of  reckless  men,  I  fell  down  on  my  face,  about 
the  eighth  hour,  with  my  wife  alone,  and  gave  glory  to 
Grod  that  he  had  counted  me  worthy  of  such  honor  ;  which 
formerly  I  avoided,  but  now,  by  his  grace,  he  has  made 
me  cheerfully  to  receive,  though  I  am  altogether  unworthy. 
He  has  kept  me  for  such  a  day." 

Thus  was  this  timid  brother  enabled  to  maintain  his 

integrity,  "  through  floods  and  flames  ;"  and  as  the  cup 

that  was  given  him  to  drink  increased  in  bitterness,  the 

more  joyfully  did  he  receive  it,  and  the  more  firmly  fixed 

10 


218         MOURNFUL  FALL  OF  THE  BRETHREN. 

was  the  purpose  of  his  soul  never  to  deny  Christ,  at  any 
rate.  His  own  spotless  reputation,  and  the  meekness 
with  which  he  bore  his  sufferings,  procured  for  him  many 
friends  even  among  the  Mohammedans  themselves. 

The  other  evangelical  brethren  of  Nicomedia  were  sum- 
moned in  a  body  before  the  bishop,  and  although  up  to 
that  hour  they  had  remained  firm  to  their  principles,  and 
seemed  ready  to  endure  all  things  for  Christ,  so  greatly 
were  their  fears  excited  by  the  threatening  aspect  of  affairs, 
that  all  but  four  signed  the  paper  of  recantation  !  Some 
of  these,  however,  fearlessly  declared  to  the  bishop  at  the 
time,  that  they  should  continue  to  read  the  Grospel,  and 
come  together  for  prayer  ;  and  he,  on  the  other  hand, 
blinded  their  minds  by  assuring  them  that  he  merely 
wanted  their  signatures  as  a  matter  of  form,  and  that 
they  should  be  left  at  perfect  liberty  to  believe  and  act  as 
they  pleased.  They  lost  all  peace  of  mind  from  that  mo- 
ment, and  never  was  it  restored  until  they  had  abjured 
their  recantation,  humbly  confessed  their  sin  to  Grod,  and 
publicly  declared  their  determination  to  abide  by  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Grospel,  even  unto  death.  They  were  all 
soon  excommunicated. 

In  Adabazar  the  trials  of  the  brethren  were  not  less 
severe.  Some  were  driven  from  their  shops,  and  others 
from  their  houses.  Grreat  effort  was  made  by  the  eccle- 
siastics to  induce  them  to  sign  the  Patriarch's  paper,  and 
three,  overcome  by  their  fears,  yielded.  The  rest  were 
strongly  bound  together,  and  fully  resolved  not  to  deny 
Christ,  even  though  life  itself  should  be  sacrificed.  No 
missionary  was  stationed  there,  and  no  sympathizing 
foreigner,  as  in  Nicomedia.  Living  like  sheep  in  the 
midst  of  wolves,  they  were  thrown  for  protection  upon 


VISIT  OF  MR.  VAN  LENNEP  TO  ADABAZAR.     219 

God  alone  ;  but  they  were  resolute  and  happy.  Such 
strict  watch  was  kept  over  them,  that  it  was  exceedingly 
difficult  to  maintain  correspondence  with  Nicomedia  and 
Constantinople.  In  some  instances  their  letters  were  inter- 
cepted, and,  after  being  perused,  were  destroyed  ;  and 
consequently  they  felt  obliged  to  be  very  cautious.  A 
friendly  Jew,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  Nicomedia 
on  business,  became  the  bearer  of  their  dispatches.  These 
were,  in  general,  short  but  expressive  messages,  written, 
for  greater  safety,  in  the  Turkish  language,  with  the  He- 
brew character.  One  of  them  will  suffice  as  a  specimen, 
"  There  is  death,  but  no  turning  back.  We  are  twenty." 
During  the  latter  part  of  March,  1846,  Mr.  Van  Lennep 
visited  both  Nicomedia  and  Adabazar.  It  was  chiefly 
through  his  influence,  in  fact,  that  those  in  the  former 
place  who  had  denied  Christ  were  induced  to  return.  At 
Adabazar  his  presence  seemed  to  stimulate  the  enemy  to 
fresh  persecution.  Four  of  the  brethren  were  seized  for 
debt  and  thrown  into  prison.  All  business  in  the  bazars 
was  suspended,  and  crowds  were  gathered  here  and  there 
talking  about  the  missionary  who  had  come  to  visit  the 
heretics.  Whenever  a  Protestant  passed,  he  was  assailed 
with  hootings  and  curses.  Mr.  Yan  Lennep  determined 
to  leave  at  once,  lest  he  should  be  the  unwilling  instru- 
ment of  bringing  upon  the  suffering  brethren  still  greater 
outrages,  although  one  of  them  had  said  to  him,  "  Let 
them  persecute  us  the  more  for  your  being  here  ;  we  care 
not  for  it  so  long  as  we  can  enjoy  the  comfort  of  seeing 
and  hearing  you."  Several  hours  before  he  started,  a 
crowd  of  some  hundred  persons  had  collected  before  the 
coffee- shop  where  he  was  lodged.  As  he  rode  off,  he  heard 
after  him  laughs  of  derision,  mingled  with  insults  and 


220  OUTRAGE    AT    ADABAZAR. 

curses.  It  was  hard  to  leave  the  beloved  brethren  exposed 
to  the  tender  mercies  of  so  excited  a  populace  ;  and  yet 
nothing  could  be  done  for  them  but  to  commend  them  to 
the  sympathizing  Saviour,  for  whose  sake  they  were 
suffering  such  things.  AVhile.  however,  their  persecutors 
were  agitated  with  fierce  passions,  they  were  calm  and 
joyful — the  only  truly  happy  men  in  the  whole  commu- 
nity. 

Some  fresh  outrage  was  committed  on  them  almost 
every  day.  One  brother,  who  was  found  alone  just  out  of 
the  town,  was  beaten  with  a  large  stick,  and  left  half  dead 
upon  the  ground.  Another,  who  had  just  opened  a  shop, 
had  his  goods  tumbled  into  the  street,  his  shop  locked,  and 
the  key  taken  from  him  by  the  police.  Another  was  impri- 
soned for  a  pretended  debt  which  he  never  owed.  Neither  in 
the  streets  nor  yet  in  their  own  houses,  were  they  exempt 
from  stoning.  One  day  the  chief  primate  of  the  Armenians, 
heading  a  band  of  about  fifty  desperate  fellows,  broke  into 
the  house  of  an  inoffensive  brother,  cast  him  violently  into  the 
street,  and  there  beat  him  unmercifully,  and  afterwards  put 
him  in  confinement.  The  next  day  nearly  the  whole  Ar- 
menian population  of  the  town  came  together,  armed  with 
clubs  and  stones,  and  attacked  successively  the  houses  of 
three  of  the  leading  brethren  :  breaking  fences,  doors, 
windows,  window  frames,  shutters,  and  furniture  :  cutting 
down  fruit-trees  and  rose-bushes:  destroying  poultry.  ».V^., 
«S:c.  They  were  accompanied  by  two  vartabeds,  who  were 
continually  exciting  and  encouraging  them  in  their  fiend- 
ish work.  It  is  impossible  to  tell  ic>  what  lengths  they 
might  have  gone,  had  not  the  Turkish  governor  and  judge 
of  the  place  come  upon  the  ground,  and  put  an  end  to 
these  violent  proceedings. 


PIKVAILIXG    SPIRIT    OF    PHUSECTTIOV.  2*21 

In  every  part  of  the  Armenian  field  the  spirit  of  perse- 
canon  now  prevailed,  and  almost  precisely  the  same 
methods  of  coercion  were  pursued  in  each  place.  Every- 
where identically  the  same  creed  was  offered  to  the  breth- 
ren to  sign  :  and  a  refusal  to  comply  was  followed  by 
excommunication  and  anathema,  with  many  and  grievous 
temporal  inflictions.  An  important  part  of  the  sysrem  of 
the  Patriarch,  which  was  very  generally  carried  out  with 
great  perseverance  and  faithfulness,  was  that  of  issuing 
violent  addresses  from  the  pulpit,  full  of  abusive  calumnies, 
in  order  to  keep  the  p^assions  of  the  people  constantly  in- 
flamed against  the  Protestant^:.  There  was  a  universal 
call  upon  the  faithful  sons  of  the  Church  to  separate  from 
all  followers  of  the  **  new  sect,"  even  though  the  tenderest 
ties  of  relationship  might  thus  be  severed  :  and,  in  the 
provinces,  the  bishops  and  vartabeds  did  not  hesitate  to 
exhort  their  flocks  openly  to  treat  the  Protes rants  with 
every  kind  of  inthgnity  and  abuse. 

In  Trebizond.  after  two  men  were  anathematized,  who. 
with  their  families,  were  living  in  the  house  of  their  own 
father,  the  new  vartabed,  whose  name  was  (xarabed,  re- 
quired their  wives  to  separate  from  them,  and  the  father 
to  turn  them  out  of  doors.  The  father  and  mother  had 
both  been  distinguished  for  their  violent  opposition  to  the 
Gospel ;  and  the  former  called  two  police  officers,  and  with 
sood-wHl  put  the  command  of  the  vartabed  into  execution. 
Remonstrance  was  in  vain,  although  three-fourths  of  the 
ownership  of  the  house  belonged  to  the  two  sons.  All 
their  books  were  now  collected,  consisting  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, tracts,  and  periodicals,  and  were  torn  into  a  thaw- 
sand  pieces,  and  strewed  along  the  street.  Their  shop 
was  also  forcibly  broken  opcm,  and  all  books  found  there 


222  FAITHFUL    ENDURANCE. 

taken  possession  of,  together  with  papers  ;  such  as  ac- 
counts, contracts,  &c.  One  of  the  two  brothers  went  to 
the  police  office  to  make  complaint,  but  a  crowd  of  op- 
posers  gathered  around,  and  clamorously  insisted  that  he 
should  be  imprisoned,  which  was  accordingly  done  !  Thus 
the  innocent  was  punished,  and  the  guilty  permitted  to  go 
free. 

Several  of  the  friends  of  the  truth  were  terrified  into  a 
compliance  with  the  vartabed's  demands.  Nor  was  this 
strange,  considering  the  trying  circumstances  of  their  case. 
Many  of  them  were  poor  and  in  debt,  having  families  to 
support,  and  no  friends  to  look  to  for  aid.  They  were  en- 
tirely cut  off  from  employment  so  long  as  they  refused  to 
submit  to  the  Church,  and  were  subject  to  every  abuse. 
No  civil  court  would  do  them  justice  ;  and  their  enemies, 
who  were  all-pow^erful,  were  continually  fabricating  false- 
hoods and  procuring  legal  decisions  against  them,  by  sub- 
orning false  witnesses  ;  and  there  was  no  redress.  Under 
such  a  pressure  of  trials,  it  required  no  common  measure 
of  faith  to  adhere  steadfastly  to  the  truth.  Some  did  en- 
dure nobly  to  the  end  ;  and  those  who  yielded  were,  for 
the  most  part,  soon  brought  back  again  to  their  faithful- 
ness, like  the  disciples  of  our  Lord,  who,  at  the  awful 
hour  of  his  betrayal,  "  all  forsook  him  and  fled." 

The  hardest  trial  of  all  to  bear  was  the  cruel  bastinado, 
which  the  vartabed  at  length  resorted  to,  seeing  that  other 
means  failed.  A  young  man  was  called  into  the  presence 
of  this  church  dignitary,  and  required  to  sign  the  Patri- 
arch's creed.  Refusing  to  comply,  he  was  placed  upon 
the  floor  and  beaten  with  sticks  on  the  soles  of  his  feet,  the 
vartabed  assisting  with  his  own  hands  in  inflicting  this 
cruelty.     He  was  then  removed  to  an  un floored  stable ; 


SCOURGING    AND    IMPRISONMENT.  223 

his  hands  were  tied  behind  him  by  the  two  thumbs,  and 
a  rope  was  passed  around  his  shoulders  and  fastened  to  a 
beam  over  his  head,  so  that  he  was  obliged  to  stand  per- 
fectly upright.  Water  was  now  poured  plentifully  on  the 
cold  ground  on  which  his  bare  feet  rested,  and  in  this  tor. 
turing  condition  he  was  obliged  to  remain  all  night. 
Strict  orders  were  issued  that  no  one  should  give  him  food. 
Here  he  was  kept  for  nearly  two  days,  though  not  always 
in  the  same  position,  and  being  repeatedly  importuned, 
with  the  most  terrific  threatenings  of  what  he  should  still 
suffer  if  he  persisted  in  his  refusal,  he  was  at  length  in- 
duced to  yield.  Afterwards  two  others  were  scourged  in 
like  manner,  and  others  still  were  imprisoned  ;  until,  at 
length,  through  the  kind  intervention  of  the  British  Con- 
sul, Mr.  Stevens,  the  Pasha  prevented,  for  the  time,  further 
outrages  of  this  sort. 

It  was  evident  that  the  vartabed  had  now  gone  too  far. 
The  bastinado  opened  many  eyes,  and  confirmed  many 
minds  in  the  truth.  The  brethren  became  more  humble 
and  decided  ;  and  several  who  hitherto  stood  aloof,  though 
at  heart  friendly,  now  began  to  attend  the  public  services 
of  the  missionaries.  Thus  did  G-od  cause  "  the  wrath  of 
man  to  praise  him." 

At  Erzrum  still  more  revolting  scenes  were  witnessed 
than  at  Trebizond.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  however,  that 
up  to  nearly  the  middle  of  March,  the  Protestants  in  that 
place  were  permitted  to  live  in  peace  ;  and  this  although 
Eprem,  whose  activity  as  a  persecutor  has  already  been 
sufficiently  shown,  still  occupied  the  episcopal  chair.  The 
fact  was,  that  between  him  and  the  Patriarch  there  was 
far  from  being  a  cordial  state  of  feeling,  and  this,  probably, 
was  the  true  secret  of  his  slowness  in  executing  the  orders 


224  BODILY    INFLICTIONS. 

of  his  superior.  The  Patriarch  soon  found  means  to  ban* 
ish  him  into  the  interior,  and  immediately  after  the  work 
of  persecution  commenced  in  Erzrum  in  fearful  earnest. 
The  principal  instruments  were  the  vartabed,  who  was 
acting  as  bishop,  and  some  of  the  primates.  The  man 
who  was  first  called  to  suffer  was  a  bold  and  active  young 
convert.  He  was  summoned  before  a  council  at  the  var- 
tabed's  residence,  and  interrogated  as  to  his  faith  in  Christ. 
His  answers  were  unanswerable  ;  and  he  declared  that 
nothing  would  ever  induce  him  to  subscribe  the  new  creed. 
The  only  resort  that  seemed  left  for  them  was  persecution. 
He  was  placed  upon  the  floor,  and  several  sticks  were 
broken  up  upon  his  feet  by  different  individuals  of  the 
company,  who  relieved  one  another.  Not  satisfied  with 
this  cruelty,  some  of  the  priests  kicked  him,  and  smote 
him  on  the  face  till  the  blood  gushed  from  his  nose  and 
mouth.  He  was  then  confined  in  chains  in  a  cold  prison, 
no  water  being  allowed  him  even  to  wash  the  blood  from 
his  face.  He  was  taken  to  the  Church  on  the  following 
Sabbath,  where,  in  the  presence  of  the  congregation,  he 
was  excommunicated,  and  curses  were  heaped  upon  him 
without  number.  As  he  left  the  Church  the  people  buf- 
feted him,  spit  upon  him,  and  some  even  declared  them- 
selves ready  to  kill  him. 

Others  were  excommunicated  by  name  on  the  same  day, 
and  three  or  four  were  carried  before  the  vartabed  and 
threatened  :  and  one  of  them  was  confined  over  night : 
but  as  all  these  steps  were  immediately  reported  to  the 
Pasha,  as  well  as  to  the  British  Consul,  and  by  him  to  his 
Ambassador,  the  persecutors  thought  it  prudent  to  proceed 
no  further  for  the  present. 

Essentially  the  same  methods  were  used  at  Brusa  and 


I 

RELIGIOUS    LIBERTY    FOR    PROTESTANTS.  225 

Smyrna  to  compel  the  disciples  of  Christ  to  deny  him,  and 
with  essentially  the  same  results.  From  all  parts  of  the 
country  both  the  persecutors  and  their  innocent  victims 
were  anxiously  looking  to  Constantinople,  as  everything 
in  regard  to  the  continuance  or  cessation  of  these  acts  of 
coercion  and  oppression  must  be  decided  there.  Let  us 
then  return  and  see  what  things  were  transpiring  at  the 
capital. 

Sir  Stratford  Canning,  whose  noble  efforts  for  religious 
liberty  in  Turkey  are  worthy  of  all  praise,  did  not  cease  to 
urge  upon  the  Turkish  government  the  necessity  of  se- 
curing to  its  Protestant  subjects  the  right  of  pursuing 
their  lawful  callings  without  molestation.  Between  thirty 
and  forty  in  Constantinople  alone,  were  still  excluded  from 
their  shops  and  their  business,  on  the  plea  that  they  were 
without  sureties.  The  Ambassador  represented  that  the 
demands  of  the  law  might  be  met,  by  their  becoming 
sureties  for  one  another.  This  important  concession  was 
at  length  made  by  the  government,  and  Reshid  Pasha,  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  or  Grand  Yizer,  as  he  soon 
after  became,  gave  orders  that  the  Protestants  be  permit- 
ted to  resume  their  business  on  this  condition.  This  de- 
cision, which,  with  a  limited  application,  had  already 
released  the  imprisoned  watchmakers,  being  now  made 
general,  virtually  settled  the  question  of  religious  liberty 
for  the  Protestants  in  Turkey.  The  immediate  relief  af- 
forded was  important,  though  far  from  being  entire.  The 
brethren  were  still  tried  in  various  ways.  Many,  from  the 
very  circumstances  of  the  case,  could  never  again  regain 
the  situations  from  which  they  had  been  thrust.  Others 
were  still  subject  to  secret  persecution,  which  was  the 
harder  to  bear,  because  it  could  not  easily  be  traced  to  its 
10* 


226  FIRST    IMPERIAL    DOCUMENT. 

proper  source,  and  brought  in  a  tangible  form  under  the 
cognizance   of  the  civil  courts.      The   Patriarch,   seeing 
which  way  the   current  was  turning,  very  adroitly  at- 
tempted to  set  himself  forth  before  the  world  as  a  friend  of 
religious  liberty,  and  a  sympathizer  with  the  suffering  ; 
although,  at  the  same  time,  he  was  repeating  his  ana- 
themas in  his  own  church  every  Sabbath-day,  and  exciting 
the  people,  by  his  appeals  to  their  fanaticism,  as  before. 
This  kept  alive  the  spirit  of  persecution,  and  various  arts 
were  practiced,  often  successfully,  to  prevent  the  breth- 
ren who  had  opened  their  shops,  from  doing  any  business. 
"Water-carriers  also,  still  refused,  in  many  instances,  to 
supply  Protestant  families  with  water,  and  bakers  with 
bread.     Numberless  other  vexations  were  practiced  from 
time  to  time,  and  there  was  often  a  great  want  of  prompt- 
ness in  the  Turkish  courts  in  relieving  the  innocent  suf- 
ferers of  their  oppressions,  even  when  they  had  tangible 
ground    of    complaint.     These    irregularities,    however, 
were  to  be  expected  in  such  a  country,  and  under  such 
circumstances.     There  was  still   satisfactory  proof  that 
the  Turkish  government  was  disposed  to  be  sincere  and 
consistent  in  its  declarations  in  favor  of  religious  liberty. 
A  vizirial  letter,  dated  early  in  June,  1846,  commanding 
the  Pasha  of  Erzrum,  to  see  that  the  civil  rights  of  the 
Protestants  were  not  infringed,  so  long  as  they  were  faith- 
ful subjects  of  the  Sultan,  is  worthy  of  mention,  as  the 
first    imperial    document    ever   issued    by    the    Turkish 
government,  for  the  protection  of  its  Protestant  subjects. 
In  the  course  of  the  persecutions  that  have  now  been 
described,  the  Patriarch  was   incessant  in  his   efforts  to 
break  up  the  Mission  Seminary  at  Bebek.     He  succeeded 
at  different  times,  in  getting  away  seventeen,  in  all,  out 


THE    MISSION    SEMINARY    AT    BEBEK.  227 

of  twenty-seven  students;  but  five  of  these  soon  returned, 
and  ten  others  joined  the  institution,  several  of  whom 
were  pious  and  promising  young  men,  who  having  been 
driven  by  persecution  from  their  business,  were  led  to 
consecrate  themselves  to  the  service  of  Grod  in  the  minis- 
try, and  to  seek  from  the  Mission  Seminary  the  intellec- 
tual and  moral  discipline  they  needed  for  this  work. 
Thus  it  may  be  said  with  truth,  that  "  the  fury  of  the 
oppressor"  made  this  seminary  what  it  was  not  before, 
except  in  the  wishes  and  intentions  of  its  founders — a 
proper  theological  school,  in  which  many  of  the  future 
pastors  of  the  Evangelical  Churches  in  Turkey,  as  well 
as  many  missionaries  of  the  cross,  were  to  receive  their 
training. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Everett,  who  had  been  connected  with 
the  Smyrna  station  since  April,  1845,  removed  to  Con- 
stantinople in  the  summer  of  1846,  and  Mrs.  Everett  was 
associated  with  Miss  Lovell  in  the  instruction  of  the 
Female  Seminary."' 

I  For  nearly  six  months  continuously,  the  anathema  had 
been  publicly  repeated  every  Sabbath  in  the  Patriarchal 
Church,  as  well  as  in  other  churches,  until  many  of  the 
people  began  to  grow  weary  of  the  sound  ;  and  the 
changes  were  so  frequently  rung  on  the  various  forms  of 
denunciation,  which  had  been  contrived  to  give  force  to 
the  bull,  that  their  efficiency  seemed  rapidly  wasting 
away.  And  yet,  up  to  the  middle  of  the  year  1846,  through 
the  influence  of  the  Church  authorities,  bread  and  water 
were  still  withheld  from  many  Protestant  families,  by  the 
regular  dealers  in  those  articles,  and  everything  was  done, 
that  could  with  safety  be  attempted,  to  vex  those  who 
remained   steadfast   in   the   truth.      The   sufferers   had 


228  STANDING    AND    PERPETUAL    CUUSE. 

again  and  again  petitioned  to  their  Patriarch,  and  to  the 
primates  for  relief,  but  they  were  uniformly  repulsed 
with  the  declaration  that  there  was  no  hope  of  any  ame- 
lioration of  their  condition,  except  by  unconditional  sub- 
mission to  the  Church.  Hitherto,  no  one  had  voluntarily 
separated  himself  from  the  Armenian  community.  Those 
who  were  called  schismatics,  had  become  such  by  the 
exscinding  act  of  the  Patriarch  himself,  who  was  the  sole 
author  of  the  schism,  and  who  seemed  to  try  every 
method  in  his  power  to  render  the  separation  perpetual. 

On  the  21st  of  June,  1846,  he  gave  the  last  finishing 
blow  to  this  work,  by  a  public  official  act,  which  resulted, 
through  necessity,  in  the  organization  of  Evangelical 
Protestant  Churches  in  Turkey.  On  that  day,  it  being 
the  day  of  a  solemn  festival  for  the  Church,  he  issued  a 
new  bull  of  excommunication  and  anathema  against  all 
who  remained  firm  to  their  evangelical  principles,  decree- 
ing that  it  should  be  publicly  read  at  each  annual  return 
of  this  festival,  in  all  the  Armenian  Churches  throughout 
the  Ottoman  Empire.  Thus  were  the  Protestants  cut 
off  and  cast  out  forever.  And  although  they  had  no 
power  to  organize  themselves  into  a  civil  community,  yet 
nothing  could  be  plainer  than  their  duty,  immediately  to 
secure  to  themselves  and  their  children,  as  far  as  they 
were  able,  the  full  possession  of  all  the  spiritual  privileges 
of  the  Grospel. 

They  made  a  written  request  to  the  missionaries,  for 
aid  in  a  matter  in  which  they  themselves  had  had  no  ex- 
perience. Accordingly,  a  meeting  was  held  in  Constan- 
tinople, of  delegates  from  the  different  stations  of  the 
mission  to  Turkey.  The  Rev.  Messrs.  Allan  and  Koenig, 
missionaries  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  to  the  Jews 


EVANGELICAL  CHURCH  ORGANIZED.  229 

of  Constantinople,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Pomroy,  then  pastor 
of  a  Congregational  Church  in  Bangor,  Maine,  and  now 
one  of  the  Secretaries  of  the  Board,  who  was  providenti- 
ally on  a  visit  to  the  Levant  at  that  time,  were  also 
present  by  invitation,  and  took  part  in  the  deliberations. 
All  felt  that  Grod  was  there ;  and  the  overwhelming 
importance  of  the  business  on  which  we  were  convened, 
and  our  own  ignorance  and  impotence,  seemed  to  compel 
us  to  throw  ourselves  directly  upon  him.  Without  wis- 
dom from  above  we  could  agree  upon  nothing  that  would 
be  useful  or  safe.  Without  his  approbation  and  blessing, 
the  steps  we  were  about  to  take  would  only  prove  a 
failure  and  a  curse.  His  providence  and  spirit  had  been 
wonderfully  with  his  people  hitherto,  in  that  dark  land, 
and  surely  he  would  not  desert  them  now.  What  might 
be  the  effect  on  their  temporal  condition  of  the  announce- 
ment to  the  government,  that  a  formal  organization  of  a 
Protestant  Church  had  taken  place,  none  could  certainly 
predict ;  but  no  doubt  existed  in  any  mind  as  to  their 
duty.  Much  prayer  was  offered,  both  by  the  members  of 
the  convention  and  our  native  brethren,  and  to  this  must 
we  ascribe  it,  that  although  there  were  representatives 
of  three  or  four  different  denominations  of  Christians 
among  us,  yet  the  most  entire  harmony  of  feeling  per- 
vaded our  deliberations,  and  the  result  was  attained  by  a 
unanimous  vote. 

On  the  1st  day  of  July,  1846,  the  Evangelical  Arme- 
nians in  Constantinople,  to  the  number  of  forty,  (three  of 
whom  were  females),  came  together  for  the  purpose  of 
organizing  themselves  into  a  Church.  The  plan  of  organ- 
ization, as  drawn  up  at  the  above  mentioned  meeting, 
was  read  and  explained,  article  by  article,  and  those 
11 


230  PASTOR  ELECTED  AND  ORDAINED. 

present  gave  their  solemn  assent  to  the  whole,  and  with 
perfect  unanimity,  adopted  it  as  theirs,  and  were  thus 
constituted  into  The  First  Evangelical  Armenian 
Church  of  Constantinople.  There  were  present  as  wit- 
nesses of  the  act,  besides  the  missionaries  of  the  Board, 
the  two  Scotch  brethren  already  mentioned,  and  an 
Armenian  brother  from  Nicomedia,  and  another  from 
Adabazar.  After  the  names  of  the  church  members  had 
been  recorded,  a  pastor  was  chosen  by  ballot,  and  without 
previous  consultation,  the  choice  fell  unanimously  on  Mr. 
Apisoghom  Khachadurian.  The  other  church  officers 
were  then  elected,  and  the  meeting  was  adjourned. 
Although  the  whole  had  occupied  from  four  to  five  hours, 
the  deepest  interest  was  maintained  throughout ;  much 
tenderness  of  feeling  was  manifested,  and  many  eyes 
were  suffused  with  tears. 

In  one  week  from  that  time,  the  candidate  was 
publicly  ordained  to  the  work  of  the  Oospel  ministry,  as 
pastor  of  the  newly  formed  Church.  The  ecclesiastical 
council  invited  by  the  Church  to  perform  this  office,  con- 
sisted of  the  missionaries  of  the  board  resident  at  Constan- 
tinople, and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Allan,  of  the  mission  of  the 
Free  Church  of  Scotland,  to  the  Jews  of  the  capital.  The 
pastor  elect  was  examined  in  the  presence  of  the  church, 
as  to  his  personal  piety  ;  his  views  in  entering  the  minis- 
try ;  on  the  doctrines  of  the  G-ospel ;  church  govern- 
ment ;  the  sacraments ;  and  the  duties  of  the  pastoral 
office ;  and  his  replies  throughout  were  such  as  to  give 
the  highest  satisfaction.  Although  he  had  not  enjoyed 
the  advantages  of  so  thorough  a  course  of  study  and 
discipline  as  are  accessible  to  the  student  in  theology 
in  America ;  yet,  besides  having  received  an  education  at 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    FIRST    PASTOR.  231 

the  school  of  Pestimaljian — the  best  in  the  Armenian 
nation — he  had  been  for  years  in  constant  intercourse 
with  the  missionaries  ;  had  attended  courses  of  exegetical 
and  theological  lectures  delivered  by  them ;  and  had 
received  much  private  instruction  from  their  lips.  But, 
what  is  more  than  all,  he  seemed  eminently  led  and 
taught  by  the  Spirit  of  Grod,  and  he  possessed  a  deep  and 
experimental  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  ;  and  even  his 
enemies  were  constrained,  not  only  to  respect  his  talents, 
but  also  to  acknowledge  that  he  was  a  man  without 
guile.  His  clear  perception  of  evangelical  truth ;  his 
power  of  argumentation  ;  his  impressiveness  of  manner  ; 
his  superior  judgment  ;  his  boldness  and  earnestness,  and 
his  general  weight  of  character — all  sanctified  by  a  per- 
vading spirit  of  piety,  plainly  marked  him  out  as  having 
been  raised  up  of  God  for  the  times  in  which  he  lived, 
and  the  very  post  he  occupied.  Those  who  were  present 
at  his  ordination,  will  not  soon  forget  the  deep  and 
solemn  emotion  he  manifested  on  that  occasion.  He 
seemed  almost  overwhelmed  with  a  view  of  the  responsi- 
bilities of  the  station  to  which  he  was  so  unexpectedly 
called,  and  during  the  whole  ordaining  prayer,  his  tears 
flowed  profusely,  and  a  trembling  sense  of  his  own  un- 
worthiness  well  nigh  prostrated  him  upon  the  earth. 

A  scene  so  new  as  a  Protestant  ordination  in  the 
capital  of  the  Turkish  Empire  drew  forth  a  crowd  to  our 
chapel,  several  of  whom  were  of  the  Patriarch's  party. 
The  strictest  silence,  however,  prevailed,  and  the  most 
fixed  and  solemn  attention  was  given  to  every  part  of  the 
service.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  estimate  placed 
upon  these  transactions  by  the  worldly  and  the  unfriendly, 
to  the  man  of  faith  they  were  big  with  importance.     A 


232  PUBLIC    DECLARATION    OF    THE    PROTESTANTS. 

vine  was  now  planted  by  God's  own  right  hand,  which  is 
destined  to  grow  and  spread  forth  its  branches,  to  the 
north  and  to  the  south,  to  tlie  east  and  to  the  west, 
until  it  shall  cover  the  whole  land,  and  bless  all  the  people 
with  its  delicious  and  abundant  fruit. 

As  an  act  of  justice  to  themselves,  the  members  of  this 
new  church  lost  no  time  in  setting  forth  before  the  world 
the  declaration  of  their  faith,  and  their  reasons  for  the 
step  they  had  taken.  A  pamphlet  was  issued  in  the  Ar- 
menian language,  containing  the  "  Confession  of  Faith,  and 
Covenant  of  the  Evangelical  Armenian  Church  of  Con- 
stantinople," preceded  by  a  brief  statement  of  the  manner 
in  which  they  had  been  forced  to  organize  themselves  into 
a  Church,  by  the  compulsory  measures  of  the  Patriarch.* 

In  the  course  of  the  same  summer,  churches  were 
formed  on  the  same  basis,  in  Nicomedia,  Adabazar,  and 
Trebizond  ;  with  the  most  evident  good  results,  although 
the  original  number  of  members  was,  in  each  case,  small. 
It  is  not  known  that  the  least  objection  was  ever  made  to 
these  organizations,  by  the  Turkish  government,  or  any  of 
its  officers.  Indeed,  the  sympathies  of  the  Mohammedans 
were  with  the  persecuted,  rather  than  with  their  enemies. 
The  Armenians  were  often  sufficiently  influential  with 
the  Turks  to  deter  a  public  officer,  for  a  season,  from 
vindicating  the  cause  of  a  suffering  Protestant ;  but  the 
instances  were  many  in  which  the  persecuted  found  pro- 
tection under  the  wing  of  some  friendly  Mussulman  ;  and 
nothing  was  more  common  than  to  hear  the  latter  main- 
tain that  the  Protestants  were  right,  and  the  Armenians 
wrong.  The  use  of  pictures  in  worship  ;  the  invocation 
of  saints  ;  and  the  doctrines   of  transubstantiation   and 

See  Appendix  F. 


MOHAMMEDANS    BEFRIEND    THE    PROTESTANTS.  233 

priestly  absolution,  are  as  abhorrent  to  the  Koran  as  they 
are  to  the  Bible.  What  occurred  in  Adabazar  about  the 
time  of  the  organization  of  the  Evangelical  Church,  is  a 
fair  specimen  of  the  feelings  cherished  generally,  and 
often  publicly  avowed  by  Mohammedans,  who  have 
intimately  known  the  Protestants.  Some  of  the  brethren 
had  been  summoned  to  the  governor's  palace,  where  were 
assembled  a  large  number  of  Armenian  and  Grreek  pri- 
mates, as  well  as  the  leading  Turks  of  the  town  ;  and 
they  were  required  by  the  bishop  to  give  a  public  promise 
that  they  would  have  no  intercourse  with  Mr.  "Wood,  who 
was  then  in  the  place.  They  firmly  answered  that  by 
nation  they  were  Armenians,  and  by  faith  Evangelical 
Christians,  and  in  regard  to  their  civil  relations,  they 
were  obedient  and  faithful  subjects  of  the  Sultan.  ''  And 
now^,"  said  they,  "  if  it  be  wrong  to  visit  a  teacher  of  like 
faith  with  ourselves,  because  he  is  an  American,  show  us 
that  it  is  forbidden  in  the  Bible,  or  by  a  law  of  the  Sultan, 
and  we  will  submit  ;  otherwise  we  cannot  consent  to  de- 
prive ourselves  of  the  benefit  derived  from  intercourse 
with  him."  All  the  Turks  present  expressed  their  appro- 
bation of  the  ground  they  assumed,  and  the  judge  said, 
*'  We  cannot  interfere  to  protect  you  from  excommunica- 
tion, but  so  long  as  you  abide  by  the  declaration  you  have 
now  made,  we  will  protect  you  civilly.  Your  goods  shall 
be  as  our  goods ;  your  houses  as  our  houses  ;  and  your 
persons  as  our  persons.     Go  in  peace." 

On  the  day  following,  which  was  the  Sabbath,  as  Mr. 
Wood  was  going  with  some  of  the  brethren  to  the  fields, 
where  it  had  been  agreed  they  should  hold  the  meetings 
of  the  day,  they  passed  a  Turkish  house,  the  owner  of 
which  invited  them  to  stop  and  take  some  water.    H#then 


234         PROTECTION  GRANTED  BY  A  TURK. 

expressed  his  gratification  at  the  result  of  the  trial  of  the 
preceding  day,  and  said,  it  was  right  they  should  be  left 
to  worship  Grod  in  their  own  way,  without  molestation. 
Another  Turk,  farther  on,  invited  them  to  hold  their  meet- 
ings in  his  field,  and  directed  his  laborers  to  forbid  any  hos- 
tile Armenian  from  entering  it  !  Thus  wonderfully  were 
protectors  raised  up  for  the  poor,  weak,  and  defenseless 
lambs  of  Christ's  flock,  from  among  those  who  were  least 
expected  to  act  in  such  a  capacity.  Truly,  the  hand  of 
God  was  in  this  thing ! 


CHAPTER     XI. 

Slow  progress  of  Religious  Liberty — Covert  Methods  of  Persecution — Im- 
prisonment of  Stepan — Attempt  to  close  Protestant  Chapel — Mobs — 
Redress  from  Government — Anomalous  Position  of  the  Protestants — 
Gradual  Amelioration — Protestant  Funeral — Growth  of  the  Community — 
Female  Field — Deaths  of  Oscan,  of  Hovsep,  and  of  the  first  Pastor — 
His  Dying  Testimony — Ordinations — New  Scene  in  Nicomedia — Mission- 
ary Tours — Beginning  of  Light  at  Aintab — Arrival  of  Mr.  Bliss — Lord 
Cowley's  Agency — The  Protestants  recognized  as  a  Community — Day  of 
Thanksgiving  and  Prayer — New  Impulse  to  the  Work — Awakening  at 
Geghi,  and  at  Aintab — Station  at  Aintab  occupied — Arrival  of  Mr. 
Crane — Colporteurs — Urgent  Appeals — Mr.  Sahakian  ordained — Mr. 
Khachadur  licensed — Burying  ground  at  Trebizond — Preservation  of  the 
Pera  Chapel — Degradation  of  Matteos  Patriarch. 

After  what  has  now  been  narrated,  it  may  be  an  un- 
expected announcement  to  the  reader,  that  persecution 
w^as  still  to  be  a  chosen  instrument  of  Providence,  in  car- 
rying forward  the  work  of  reform  in  Turkey,  as  well  as 
for  the  salutary  discipline  of  the  people  of  G-od.  True, 
the  highest  authority  in  the  land  had  decided  against  it ; 
and  this  decision  corresponded  with  the  charter  of  rights, 
guaranteed  to  his  people  by  the  reigning  Sultan,  soon 
after  his  accession  to  the  throne.  It  corresponded  also 
with  the  spirit  of  these  mighty  changes  that  have  been 


236  SLOW    PROGRESS    OF    RELIGIOUS    LIBERTY. 

and  are  taking  place  in  the  Turkish  Empire — changes  in 
dress,  in  social  habits,  in  the  administration  of  the  laws, 
and  in  the  means  and  method  of  education  ;  and  especi- 
ally with  the  strong  tendency  that  has  become  more  and 
more  visible,  to  a  separation  of  the  civil  from  the  ecclesi- 
astical power.  The  enlightenetl  Christian,  who  notices 
the  fact  that  the  first  beginnings  of  change  in  Turkey 
were  almost  exactly  simultaneous  with  the  beginnings  of 
the  missionary  movement  in  the  land  ;  and,  though 
without  any  visible  connection,  in  any  way,  with  that 
movement,  the  changes  in  question  have,  in  a  good 
measure,  kept  pace  with  the  progress  of  the  missionary 
cause,  will  not  hesitate  to  ascribe  the  whole  to  one  great 
overruling  agency;  the  agency  of  G-od,  exerted  through 
his  providence  and  his  Spirit.  And  yet,  who  that  knows 
Turkey  ;  who  that  knows  the  history  of  the  world,  can 
wonder  that  a  decree  in  favor  of  religious  liberty,  in  such 
circumstances,  is  not  consistently  and  fully  carried  out  in 
a  day  ?  To  write  out  an  edict  is  the  w^ork  of  minutes  ; 
to  change  the  opinions  and  habits  of  men,  is  often  the 
work  of  years.  Imperial  decrees  may  intimidate  evil 
disposed  persons  from  open  acts  of  violence,  but  so  long 
as  the  disposition  to  evil  remains,  and  especially  if  it  be 
the  offspring  of  strong  prejudice  and  passion,  and  means 
are  in  constant  operation  to  keep  these  alive  and  active, 
it  will  be  sure  to  find  ways  of  venting  itself  in  secret,  if 
it  cannot  in  public,  upon  the  victims  it  has  marked  as  its 
own. 

The  government  of  the  Sultan  had  ordered  that  the 
Protestants  be  no  longer  molested  in  their  civil  rights,  on 
account  of  their  religious  sentiments.  Their  shops  were 
re-opened,  as  we  have  seen,  but  it  was  comparatively  easy 


COVERT    METHODS    OF    PERSECUTION.  237 

for  their  busy  enemies  to  prevent  traffic  with  them,  with- 
out openly  infringing  the  law,  and  this  was  repeatedly 
done.^*"  They  could  not  be  imprisoned  or  banished  merely 
for  their  religious  sentiments  ;  but  false  claims  of  debt 
could  and  did  imprison  them  ;  and  false  charges  of  vicious 
conduct,  established  by  perjury,  could  and  did  secure  their 
banishment.  In  Constantinople,  considerable  sums  of 
money  were  paid  by  different  individuals  to  avoid  impris- 
onment for  pretended  debts  ;  and  more  than  a  score  of 
Protestants,  at  different  times,  were  shut  up  with  felons 
for  alleged  crimes  which  false  witnesses  had  proved  against 
them,  and  which  they,  from  the  very  organization  of  the 
Turkish  Courts,  could  not  disprove.  As  an  example  of 
the  length  to  which  the  Patriarch  could  even  now  go  in 
his  persecuting  measures,  the  following  story  is  related  : 
A  place  of  Protestant  worship  w^as  opened  in  the  city  pro- 
per, for  the  accommodation  of  many  families  who,  on  ac- 
count of  the  distance,  could  not  often  be  present  at  the 
chapel  in  Pera.  The  house  hired  for  this  purpose  was 
built  by  a  former  Patriarch,  though  now  owned  by  his 
brother,  who  was  a  worthy  member  of  the  Protestant 
community  and  Church.     It  was  situated  near  the  Pa- 

*  In  consequence  of  the  disadvantageous  position  of  the  Protestant  Arme- 
nians for  doing  business,  the  plan  was  formed  of  encouraging  a  few  ingenious 
and  promising  young  men  to  repair  to  Americzi,  for  the  purpose  of  making 
themselves  masters  of  certain  useful  trades,  that  were  either  not  known 
in  Turkey,  or  only  imperfectly  known  :  with  the  view  to  their  returning 
and  opening  shops  for  the  prosecution  of  these  trades.  The  double  advan- 
tage was  anticipated  of  securing  employment  to  those  Protestants  who 
were  destitute  of  it,  and  of  raising  the  Protestant  community  in  the  useful 
arts,  at  least  to  a  level  with  other  communities  in  the  land.  Five  young 
men,  of  good  character,  are  already  in  this  country,  in  pursuance  of  this 
plan.  They  came  at  their  own  expense,  and  have  no  connection  with  the 
Board. 

11* 


238  ATTEMPTS    TO    PREVENT    MEETINGS. 

triarchate,  which  no  doubt  was  an  additional  cause  of 
vexation  to  this  dignitary.  At  that  time  no  other  house 
could  bo  procured  in  all  Constantinople,  for  such  a  purpose. 
By  a  cunning  device,  the  Patriarch  procured  the  impris- 
onment of  Stepan,  the  owner  of  the  house,  by  the  Turkish 
police,  on  charge  of  flogging  one  of  his  priests  !  The 
priest  had  been  sent  by  his  superior  to  Stepan's  house,  in 
his  absence,  to  endeavor  to  persuade  his  wife  to  separate 
from  him  ;  and  the  injured  husband  merely  called  at  the 
priest's  door,  and  warned  him  not  to  enter  his  house  again, 
on  pain  of  civil  prosecution.  This  was  a  sufficient  ground 
for  a  pretext,  the  futility  of  which  was  transparent  on  the 
trial,  the  whole  object  and  aim  of  the  charges  being  to 
prevent  the  holding  of  Protestant  worship  in  the  house  in 
question.  The  Patriarch  first  claimed  the  house  as  the 
property  of  the  Church,  having  been  built  by  a  Patriarch. 
And  when  this  was  decided  against  him,  he  begged  that 
Stepan  might  be  removed  from  the  house,  since  all  his 
neighbors  were  complaining  against  him  as  a  disturber  of 
the  peace.  This  also  was  set  aside.  After  several  other 
vain  shifts  on  the  part  of  the  Patriarch  to  accomplish  his 
object,  the  Judge  at  length  took  up  the  same  side,  and 
said  to  Stepan,  "  The  government  gives  you  no  permission 
to  hold  meetings  in  that  house."  *'  Sir,"  said  Stepan, 
with  solemn  earnestness,  "  I  beg  that  you  will  not  fatigue 
yourselves  with  efforts  to  prevent  us  from  meeting ;  for  I 
declare  that  not  only  I,  but  all  the  Protestant  Armenians 
also,  are  ready  to  shed  our  blood  for  this  thing.  Consult  to- 
gether, if  you  please,  as  to  the  best  method  of  getting  rid 
of  us,  whether  by  exiling,  drowning,  or  by  cr  ting  off  our 
heads  ;  but  it  is  useless  to  try  to  prevent  us  from  meeting 
The  Holy  Grospel  commands  us  to  meet,  and  it  is  a  mat 


STATE    OF    THINGS    IN    THE    INTERIOR.  239 

ter  of  conscience  and  duty  with  us  ;  and  we  can  never 
cease  to  meet  for  the  worship  of  Grocl."  The  Judge  had 
no  reply  to  make  to  this  noble  answer,  but  merely  directed 
his  clerk  to  record  that  "  the  Protestants  say  it  is  a  mat- 
ter of  faith  and  conscience  with  them  to  hold  meetings." 
Stepan  was  soon  liberated  ;  and  although  the  ecclesiastical 
powers  were  unwearied  in  their  efforts  to  shut  up  that 
place  of  worship,  yet  Grod  never  permitted  them  to  succeed. 
In  interior  places,  where  the  new  order  of  things  was 
not  so  well  understood,  and  where  the  local  governors  were 
more  completely  the  creatures  and  the  tools  of  rich  and 
influential  Armenians,  it  was  still  more  easy  to  afflict  the 
Protestants  with  impunity.  In  Nicomedia,  after  religious 
liberty  had  been  proclaimed  to  the  Protestants,  the  breth- 
ren were  often  abused  in  the  streets,  and  their  houses 
stoned.  Priest  Harutun  had  nearly  all  his  windows  broken. 
In  Adabazar  a  Protestant  teacher  w^as  put  in  chains  and 
sent  to  prison,  on  the  general  charge  of  disturbing  the 
peace,  though  no  one  in  the  town  was  really  more  peace- 
able than  he.  At  Trebizond,  a  mob  of  women  attacked, 
with  heavy  stones,  two  females  who  were  returning  from 
the  preaching  of  the  missionaries,  and  because  their  hus- 
bands endeavored  to  shield  them  from  harm,  these  hus- 
bands were  thrown  into  prison,  and  there  stretched  out, 
with  their  faces  downwards,  upon  the  cold,  damp  ground, 
and  their  feet  confined  in  the  stocks  I  In  this  painful 
position  they  were  left  for  a  whole  day  without  food,  so 
that  one  became  insensible,  and  was  more  dead  than  alive 
when  he  was  removed.  The  other  w^as  carried  to  Con- 
stantinople, and  there  kept  in  close  confinement  for  several 
months,  his  persecutors,  who  were  influential,  insisting 
upon  it  that  he  was  a  disturber  of  the  peace  and  a  danger- 


240  VIOLENCE    OF    MOBS. 

ous  man.  In  the  same  place,  on  the  occasion  of  the  death 
of  a  Protestant  brother,  the  house  where  the  body  lay  was 
assailed  by  stones  from  a  furious  mob,  and  every  effort 
was  made  to  prevent  the  burial.  This  necessary  duty 
could  only  be  performed,  at  last,  under  shelter  of  the 
night,  and  by  paying  twenty-one  dollars  for  permission  to 
dig  a  grave  in  the  public  highway  !  At  Erzrum  an  infu- 
riated mob  forced  its  way  into  the  house  of  Br.  Smith,  and 
bore  away  a  priest  of  the  Church  who  had  escaped  thither 
to  avoid  persecution,  he  being  a  Protestant  in  sentiment. 
They  afterwards  returned  with  renewed  fury,  broke  into 
the  house  a  second  time,  felled  to  the  ground  a  native  as- 
sistant and  also  a  patient  of  the  doctor,  and  destroyed 
seven  or  eight  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  books  and  furni- 
ture. 

Even  in  the  capital  itself,  at  the  burial  of  the  first  Pro- 
testant adult  after  the  separation,  the  procession,  in  re- 
turning from  the  grave,  was  followed  by  a  mob  of  i\rme- 
nians,  who  first  began  to  shout  in  a  highly  insulting  and 
disgraceful  manner,  using  the  most  filthy  language  ;  and 
afterwards  to  hurl  stones,  some  of  which  were  of  an  enor- 
mous size.  The  mob  thus  followed  the  procession  for  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  or  more,  when  they  amounted  to  at  least 
a  thousand  persons.  Several  of  the  Armenian  brethren, 
and  one  at  least  of  the  missionaries,  were  struck  with  the 
stones,  though  providentially  no  one  was  seriously  injured. 
In  all  these  cases,  and  numberless  others  of  a  similar  kind 
the  Turkish  tribunals  were  immediately  appealed  to  for 
redress  ;  and  this  was,  sooner  or  later,  almost  sure  to  be 
obtained,  though  not  always  to  the  full  extent  that  was 
due.  At  Nicomedia  the  governor  ordered  the  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  leaders  of  the  Armenian  community  to  desist 


ANOMALOUS    POSITION    OF    THE    PROTESTANTS.         241 

from  their  oppressions,  saying,  "The  Protestants  no  longer 
belong  to  you,  and  you  have  no  right  to  interfere  with 
their  religion."  A  file  of  soldiers,  even,  was  sent  on  one 
occasion  to  disperse  the  mob.  At  Trebizond,  police  officers 
were  regularly  stationed  at  the  entrance  of  the  Protestant 
place  of  worship,  as  long  as  such  a  step  was  considered 
necessary.  By  the  prompt  and  decisive  intervention  of 
the  United  States  Minister  at  the  Porte,  Mr.  Carr,  the 
damages  sustained  at  Erzrum  by  Dr.  Smith  were  repaid, 
and  four  of  the  leaders  in  the  mob  were  imprisoned.  And 
in  Constantinople,  the  police  took  effectual  measures  to 
prevent  the  recurrence  of  such  disgraceful  scenes  as  those 
described  in  connection  with  the  first  funeral. 

The  position  of  the  Protestants  was  still  an  anomalous 
one  in  Turkey.  They  were  separated  from  the  Armenian 
community,  but  not  united  with  any  other.  The  Turkish 
government  was  determined  they  should  not  be  molested 
by  the  Patriarch  or  his  ministers,  but  exactly  what  to  do 
with  them  w^as  not  so  easily  decided.  According  to  the 
municipal  regulations  of  Constantinople,  neither  marriage, 
baptism,  nor  burial  can  be  performed  without  the  cogni- 
zance of  the  civil  power.  A  certificate  from  the  Patriarch 
must  be  presented  to  the  head  of  the  police,  to  procure  a 
permit  for  marriage.  The  name  of  every  child  baptized 
must  be  communicated  by  the  Patriarch  to  the  same  of- 
ficer, for  enrollment ;  and  previous  permission  must  be 
obtained,  through  the  Patriarch,  from  the  Board  of  Health, 
for  every  burial.  Besides  this,  no  person  can  travel  in 
the  country  without  a  passport,  and  no  passport  can  be 
obtained  without  the  Patriarch's  voucher  for  the  honesty 
of  the  man.  At  first  it  seemed  to  be  the  plan  of  the  gov- 
ernment, that  while  the  Protestants  should  be  entirely 
11 


242  GRADUAL    AMELIORATION. 

separated  from  the  Patriarch,  so  far  as  religious  matters 
were  concerned,  he  might  still  be  left  to  act  for  them  as 
their  civil  representative  at  the  Porte,  This  was  soon 
found  to  be  utterly  impracticable.  There  seemed  to  be 
two  principal  objections  to  organizing  them  regularly  into 
a  separate  civil  community  ;  namely,  the  fewness  of  their 
numbers,  and  the  strong  objections  of  certain  parties  hav- 
ing great  influence  with  the  government.  They  were 
consequently  left  for  more  than  a  year  and  a  half  with 
their  rights  acknowledged,  and  yet  without  any  regular 
provision  for  securing  those  rights  from  invasion  ;  and 
subject,  in  the  interval,  to  frequent  grievances  and  even 
oppressions,  such  as  have  been  described.  And  it  is  al- 
ways to  be  understood,  that  Protestants  in  the  interior 
were  exposed  to  greater  trials  of  this  sort  in  proportion  to 
the  remoteness  of  their  situation  from  the  capital. 

But  though  the  patience  of  the  evangelical  Armenians 
was  long  tried  in  various  ways,  through  their  imperfect 
acknowledgment  by  the  government,  still  there  was  a 
gradual  amelioration  of  their  condition  evidently  going  on, 
which,  to  such  as  were  watching  with  reasonable  expect- 
ations, the  signs  of  the  times,  was  highly  encouraging. 
It  is  impossible  for  those  who  have  never  been  in  like 
circumstances,  to  conceive  of  the  degree  of  satisfaction  and 
encouragement  felt  by  the  Protestants  when  they  were 
for  the  first  time  permitted  to  bury  their  dead  in  peace, 
under  the  protection  of  the  civil  power,  and  to  procure  a 
permit  for  marriage,  and  a  passport  for  traveling,  without 
the  mediation  of  the  Patriarch.  The  second  adult  funeral 
among  them  was  in  striking  contrast  with  the  first.  It 
occurred  on  the  Sabbath,  and  in  the  procession  were  from 
one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  native  Protestants. 


PROTESTANT    FUNERAL.  243 

with  their  pastor  at  their  head  carrying  a  copy  of  the 
Scriptures  in  his  hand.  All  marched  silently  and  solemnly, 
at  mid-day,  through  the  most  public  street  of  Pera,  to  the 
Protestant  burying-ground,  under  the  protection  of  a  body 
of  the  police.  It  was  a  new  and  wonderful  spectacle  for 
Turkey  ;  and  shop-keepers  and  artisans  along  the  way 
turned  aside  from  business  for  the  moment,  and  inquired, 
What  new  thing  is  this  ?  Hitherto  the  funeral  proces- 
sions of  native  Christians  had  been  accompanied  with 
gilded  crosses  elevated  in  the  air,  and  candles,  and  priestly 
robes,  and  chantings.  It  was  whispered  from  mouth  to 
mouth,  "  These  are  the  Protestants.  See  how  the  gov- 
ernment protects  them  !"  Some  of  the  Mussulmans  said, 
*'  Look  !  There  are  no  crosses  !  no  singing  !  This  is  as 
it  should  be." 

Several  hundreds  of  people  of  different  classes  gathered 
around  the  grave,  where  a  hymn  was  sung,  and  a  short 
but  earnest  and  appropriate  address  was  delivered  by  the 
pastor.  Many  went  home  from  that  burial  with  new  and 
more  correct  impressions  of  what  Protestantism  really  is. 
The  moral  influence  of  the  whole  spectacle  was  highly 
salutary,  and  it  was  felt  by  all  that  an  important  point 
had  been  gained  to  the  Protestant  cause.  So  also,  when 
several  months  subsequently  the  first  native  Protestant 
wedding  took  place,  the  permit  being  given  by  the  Turk- 
ish government,  and  the  ceremony  performed  by  Mr. 
Khachadurian,  the  pastor,  not  only  without  the  interven- 
tion of  the  Patriarch,  but  in  spite  of  various  intrigues  on 
his  part  to  prevent  it. 

The  internal  growth  of  the  community  was  ever  in  ad- 
vance of  the  external.  No  week  passed  without  furnish- 
ing evidence  of  the  special  presence  of  Grod's  Spirit,  and 


244  ^  FEMALE    FIELD. 

no  communion  season  without  accessions  to  the  Church. 
Grreat  care  was  taken  in  the  admission  of  members,  and 
none  were  received  except  after  long  trial,  and  a  strict 
examination  by  the  committee  of  the  Church.  During 
the  first  year  of  its  organization,  forty-eight  persons  were 
added  to  the  Church  in  Constantinople,  seventeen  of  whom 
were  received  on  one  Sabbath ;  making  eighty-eight 
communicants,  in  all,  at  the  end  of  the  year  In  the  na- 
tive female  field,  a  somewhat  rapid  development  now  took 
place. 

The  desire  to  hear  the  Grospel  preached  had  greatly 
increased  among  them.  The  oriental  rules  of  seclusion  in 
reference  to  women,  had  hitherto  prevented  the  attendance 
of  females  at  the  public  services.  From  occupying  an 
uncomfortable  position  for  hearing  on  the  Sabbath,  in  a 
room  adjacent  to  the  chapel,  they  were  placed  behind  a 
screen  at  the  end  of  the  chapel  itself.  Their  boldness  in- 
creasing with  increasing  numbers,  the  screen  was  gradu- 
ally removed,  and  they  were  permitted  to  see  as  well  as 
hear  the  speaker.  Subsequently,  their  position  in  the 
house  of  Grod  was  still  further  improved,  by  their  being 
arranged  on  one  side  of  the  chapel,  while  the  men  were 
placed  on  the  other.  The  existence  of  our  female  seminary 
greatly  facilitated  these  changes,  which,  much  as  they 
were  opposed  to  former  custom  and  prejudice,  have  so  far 
resulted  in  no  apparent  evil,  but  have  been  productive  of 
great  good.  Female  education  had  been  so  entirely  neg- 
lected, that  many  who  joined  the  Protestant  community 
were  unable  even  to  read.  The  desire  to  peruse  for  them- 
selves the  word  of  Grod,  operated  as  a  most  powerful  stimu- 
lus, and  several  adult  classes  were  soon  formed,  composed 
in  part  of  elderly  women,  who  gave  themselves  with  ex- 


DEATH    OF    OSCAN    AN^?    HOVSEP.  245 

traordinary  diligence  to  the  labor  of  learning  to  read  in 
their  own  native  tongue. 

Three  remarkable  deaths  occurred  among  the  evangelical 
Armenians,  that  belong  to  the  present  period  of  our  narra- 
tive. The  first  was  that  of  Mr.  Oscan,  an  aged  pilgrim, 
who  had  for  years  been  groaning  under  severe  bodily  infir- 
mities, but  was  rich  in  faith.  He  had  several  times  been 
brought  very  low,  so  that  his  life  was  despaired  of ;  but 
God  preserved  him,  and  he  seemed  almost  miraculously 
strengthened,  so  as  to  participate  in  the  services  at  the  for- 
mation of  the  first  evangelical  Armenian  Church  in  Constan- 
tinople, and  to  put  down  his  name  with  the  people  of  G-od. 
On  the  following  v/eek  he  was  also  permitted  to  be  pre- 
sent at  the  ordination  of  the  first  pastor.  It  was  one  of 
the  most  interesting  sights  of  that  memorable  day,  to  be- 
hold the  good  old  man,  bending  under  the  infirmities  of 
age,  with  the  tears  trickling  down  his  furrowed  and  sunken 
cheeks  as  he  witnessed  what  he  never  expected  to  see  on 
the  earth,  and  apparently  saying,  with  aged  Simeon, 
*'  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace." 
And  he  did  soon  depart.  He  was  the  oldest  member  of 
the  Church,  and  the  first  to  join  *'  the  general  assembly 
and  church  of  the  first  born  in  heaven."  The  disgraceful 
scenes  exhibited  at  his  funeral  have  been  already  described. 

The  next  individual  referred  to  was  Mr.  Hovsep  Grama- 
lielian.  Up  to  the  forty-third  year  of  his  age  he  was  the 
slave  of  vicious  habits,  a  drunkard  and  a  debauchee  of  the 
lowest  class.  Through  the  blessing  of  Grod  on  the  faith- 
fulness of  a  brother,  he  was  awakened  and  led  to  see  his 
awful  guilt,  and  to  look  to  Christ  alone  for  pardon  and 
salvation.  He  became  a  most  zealous  and  exemplary  dis- 
ciple of  the  Lord  Jesus.  When  the  persecution  commenced, 


246  THE    FIRST    PASTOR. 

he  was  driven  from  his  shop  and  his  father's  house,  from 
which  he  remained  an  exile  until  he  died.  He  received 
frequent  abuse  for  his  attachment  to  the  Grospel,  and  once 
was  knocked  down  and  beaten  in  the  streets  by  some  of 
the  Patriarch's  zealous  coadjutors.  It  may  with  truth  be 
said  that  he  was  persecuted  unto  death  ;  for  his  last  sick- 
ness was  brought  on  from  a  shock  he  received,  by  the  sud- 
den appearance  at  his  shop  of  a  ruffian  who,  a  day  or  two 
previously,  had  showed  a  dagger,  and  threatened  to  take 
the  life  of  a  Christian  brother,  merely  for  his  religion. 
Hovsep,  supposing  that  his  own  life  was  in  imminent  peril 
from  the  hands  of  this  ferocious  enemy,  was  so  startled  at 
the  moment,  that  a  profuse  hemorrhage  from  the  lungs 
came  on,  which  terminated  in  his  death  within  a  few 
weeks.  Almost  his  last  words  were,  "  0,  my  sins  !  my 
many  and  grievous  sins !  What  can  I  do  to  wipe  them 
away  ?  I  am  perfectly  impotent ;  but,  blessed  be  Grod, 
he  has  made  known  to  me  the  Gospel  of  his  Son  and  my 
hope  is  in  him  alone  !" 

The  third  individual  referred  to,  was  the  beloved  pastor 
himself,  who,  to  the  inexpressible  grief  of  his  people,  was 
suddenly  snatched  away  from  them  by  death,  in  the  very 
midst  of  his  usefulness.  His  labors,  and  cares,  and 
anxieties  had  been  abundant.  Being  the  pastor  of  a  per- 
secuted flock,  he  was  the  object  of  many  a  shaft  from  the 
enemy.  He  was  sometimes  thrown  into  very  exciting 
scenes,  in  the  midst  of  mobs,  raised  in  the  streets  to  vex 
the  Protestants.  Only  a  short  time  previous  to  his  death, 
he  visited  Nicomedia  ;  and  while  there,  was  called  to 
attend  the  funeral  of  a  Protestant  brother.  As  the  pro- 
cession passed  along  the  street,  thousands  of  hostile 
Armenians  were  assembled,  to  meet  it  with  insults  and 


IIIS    SICKNESS    AND    DEATH.  247 

abuse.  Arrived  at  the  place  of  burial,  this  rabble  gathered 
around  the  grave,  and  Mr.  Khachadiirian  took  the  oppor- 
tunity of  preaching  to  them  the  Grospel  of  Christ.  They 
listened  in  perfect  silence,  and  then  went  quietly  to  their 
homes.  The  pastor  returned  to  Constantinople,  overcome 
by  exertion  and  excitement.  "Within  a  week,  he  was 
exposed  to  the  worrying  influence  of  a  similar  outrage,  at 
the  funeral  of  a  Protestant  child,  in  the  capital.  His  last 
disease  immediately  developed  itself,  which  was  pro- 
nounced by  a  judicious  physician  to  be  a  disease  of  the 
brain,  induced  by  excessive  mental  effort  and  excitement, 
a  disease  in  this  form,  scarcely  known  in  the  country. 
During  most  of  his  illness  he  was  delirious,  but  his  ruling 
passion  was  constantly  showing  itself.  Scarcely  any- 
thing else  was  heard  to  proceed  from  his  lips  but  the 
name  of  his  beloved  Saviour,  or  what  pertained  to  his 
kingdom  and  glory.  He  had  lost  the  control  of  his  fine 
mind,  but  his  time  was  spent,  even  in  the  midst  of  his 
delirium,  chiefly  in  preaching,  exhortation,  and  prayer. 
It  became  more  and  more  evident  that  his  days  were 
numbered,  and  that  his  end  was  near.  But  how  sad  was 
the  prospect  to  his  weeping  Church  I  The  report  had 
already  gone  abroad  among  his  superstitious  enemies  that 
Grod  had  smitten  him  with  raving  madness  and  despair, 
in  consequence  of  the  anathemas  of  the  Church,  which 
rested  upon  him  ;  and  great  would  have  been  their  glory- 
ing, had  this  sun  thus  set  under  a  cloud.  But  the 
earnest  supplications  of  his  Church  were  heard ;  the 
cloud  was  lifted  up  ;  the  laboring  mind  was  unshackled  ; 
and  the  departing  saint  was  permitted  to  magnify  the 
grace  of  Christ,  by  declaring  how  abundantly  he  was  sus- 
tained in  that  solemn  hour. 


248  HIS    DYING    TESTIMONY. 

I  was  providentially  called  to  his  bedside,  but  a  short 
time  before  his  departure.  He  was  lying  in  a  state  of 
apparent  stupor,  and  a  number  of  the  male  and  female 
members  of  his  Church  were  sitting  mournfully  around 
his  bed.  I  immediately  endeavored  to  arouse  his  atten- 
tion, in  order,  if  possible,  to  ascertain  from  his  own  lips, 
the  state  of  his  soul.  After  one  or  two  unsuccessful 
efforts,  to  the  surprise  and  delight  of  all  present,  he 
seemed  to  awake  as  out  of  a  deep  sleep,  and  I  had  a 
long  and  deeply  interesting  conversation  with  him 
respecting  his  prospects  and  hopes  for  eternity.  In  an- 
swer to  inquiries,  he  said  that  his  heart  was  "  full  of  sin, 
but  Jesus  Christ  was  his  righteousness,  his  sanctification, 
and  his  redemption  ;"  and  that  his  hope  was  "  not  at  all 
in  his  own  merits  ;  but  only  in  the  free  and  infinite 
grace  of  G-od."  In  short,  his  feet  were  firmly  planted  on 
the  rock,  Christ  Jesus,  and,  while  still  in  the  flesh  he 
was  permitted  to  enjoy  a  foretaste  of  heavenly  glory.  His 
dying  testimony  was  most  precious  to  his  weeping  church. 
Those  who  were  present  seemed  much  more  ready  to 
give  him  up,  after  his  lips  had  been  once  more  unsealed, 
and  he  permitted  to  testify  to  the  all-sustaining  grace  of 
God,  at  a  time  when  flesh  and  heart  were  failing.  At 
the  end  of  every  answer  to  inquiries  put  to  him,  they 
cried  out  all  over  the  room — Bless  the  Lord  !  Glory  to 
G-od !  Glory  to  God  !  being  wholly  unable  to  suppress 
their  emotions,  and  the  sense  of  gratitude  they  felt  that 
God  had  so  graciously  heard  and  answered  their  prayers. 

I  afterwards  engaged  in  prayer,  and  our  dying  brother  ut- 
tered a  loud  Amen,  at  the  end  of  every  sentence,  to  the  very 
last,  and  then,  in  an  instant,  he  sunk  again  into  a  stupor, 
from  which  he  never  more  awoke      One  of  the  brethren 


ORDINATION    OF    PASTORS.  249 

went  to  his  bedside,  and  with  an  almost  bursting  heart, 
cried  out,  ''  Brother  Apisoghom  !  Brother  Apisoghom  ! 
Who  shall  preach  to  us  ;  who  shall  exhort  us  when  you 
are  dead  ?"  The  beloved  pastor  was  too  far  gone  to 
reply  ;  and  all  the  brethren  and  sisters  of  the  Church  who 
were  present,  gave  vent  to  their  feelings  in  a  flood  of 
tears. 

Thus  did  this  chosen  servant  of  Grod  end  his  labors  on 
the  earth,  after  only  eight  months'  service  in  the  pastoral 
office.  His  death  occurred  on  the  12th  of  March,  1847. 
To  us  it  was  a  most  trying  dispensation,  but  of  one  thing 
we  felt  certain,  God  can  make  no  mistake.  A  brother  of 
the  deceased,  Mr.  Simon  Khachadurian,  was  shortly  after 
elected,  and  ordained  pastor  in  his  place.  He  had  been 
educated  at  the  Bebek  Seminary,  and  possessed  rare 
qualities  for  the  office  to  which  he  was  called,  and  which 
he  still  continues  to  adorn. 

Two  other  pupils  of  the  same  seminary,  Mr.  Avedis 
and  Mr.  Mugurdich,  were  licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel. 
The  latter  was  subsequently  ordained  as  pastor  of  the 
Evangelical  Church  in  Trebizond,  and  the  former  as  co- 
pastor  in  Constantinople.  Another  pastor  was  ordained 
in  Nicomedia  in  the  latter  part  of  November,  1847.  This 
was  Mr.  Harutun  Minasian.  His  ordination  was  attended 
by  circumstances  of  peculiar  interest.  His  little  flock 
had  been  for  many  years  exposed  to  almost  constant  per- 
secution. Oftentimes  they  were  driven  from  the  abodes 
of  men,  and  compelled  to  hold  their  worship  in  the  distant 
fields  ;  and  even  there,  they  were  never  sure  of  being 
left  unmolested.  Now  they  had  a  place  for  public  wor- 
ship in  the  very  heart  of  the  city  ;  and  there,  at  mid-day, 

on  the  Sabbath,  the  ordination  services  were  performed — 
11# 


250  BEGINNI.VG    OF    LIGHT    IN    AINTAB. 

no  one  daring  to  "  molest  them  or  make  them  afraid." 
The  interest  of  the  occasion  was  enhanced  by  the  historic 
recollections  of  the  place.  In  this  town  the  Emperor 
Diocletian  held  h'i.«  court,  and  on  this  very  spot  began  the 
memorable  persecution  of  Christians  in  his  reign. 
Though  the  truth  has  been  for  ages  shrouded  in  darkness, 
yet  it  has  not  been  lost.  Grod  has  still  a  seed  to  serve 
him :  and  once  more  a  congregation  of  faithful  men  is 
there  gathered,  in  which  the  pure  (lospel  is  preached,  and 
the  ordinances  scripturally  administered. 

Missionary  tours  performed  through  various  parts  in  the 
interior  of  the  country,  brought  to  light  many  encouraging 
facts  in  regard  to  the  extent  of  the  work  of  reform.  It  is 
believed  that  there  was  not  a  single  town  of  any  size  in 
the  whole  land,  in  which  Armenians  were  found,  where 
there  were  not  at  least  one  or  two  on  the  Protestant  side ; 
and,  in  many  cases,  several  in  one  place  were  ready  to 
avow  themselves  openly  as  friends  of  the  G-ospel.  But  in 
no  place  was  the  movement  more  remarkable  than  at  Ain- 
tab,  a  town  situated  about  three  days'  ride  northeast  from 
Aleppo.  Some  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  and  other  books 
from  our  press,  had  found  their  way  to  this  town,  chiefly 
through  the  agency  of  Bedros  vartabed,  who  labored  as  a 
colporteur  in  those  parts  ;  and  a  few  individuals,  by  the 
blessing  of  G-od  on  the  simple  reading  of  the  word,  had 
their  eyes  opened  to  see  the  errors  of  their  Church.  Soon 
after,  the  Patriarchal  bull  against  priest  Vertanes  and  the 
other  evangelical  brethren,  was  received  from  Constanti- 
nople, and  publicly  read  in  the  Church.  Those  who  had 
been  convinced  of  the  truth  now  learned,  for  the  first  time, 
that  there  existed  in  the  Armenian  community  a  body  of 
men  who  take  the  Bible  as  their  only  guide.     This  greatly 


BEGINNING    OF    LIGHT    AT    AINTAB.  251 

encouraged  and  strengthened  them.  Soon  after,  a  varta- 
bed  came  to  Aintab,  and  began  to  preach  the  evangelical 
doctrines,  in  the  Armenian  Church,  in  the  most  bold  and 
zealous  manner.  He  was  interesting  in  his  appearance, 
and  eloquent  in  his  speech  ;  and  with  great  fearlessness 
did  he  expose  the  errors  of  his  Church,  and  with  great 
power  set  forth  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  the  Gospel. 
Very  many  were  convinced  by  him  of  the  truth,  and  were 
led  to  renounce  their  previous  errors,  and  openly  avow 
themselves  as  Protestants.  It  seemed  as  though  the  whole 
fabric  of  superstition  in  Aintab  must  speedily  fall.  It  was 
soon  discovered  that  this  new  and  zealous  preacher  of  the 
evangelical  doctrines,  was  himself  evangelical  only  in 
name.  His  moral  character  proved  to  be  infamous,  and 
he  was  sent  away  in  disgrace.  The  fruits  of  his  preach- 
ing, however,  remained,  although  he  proved  so  unworthy 
an  instrument.  The  evangelical  brethren  immediately 
prepared  a  letter,  signed  by  eighty-two  heads  of  families, 
requesting  that  a  missionary  might  forthwith  be  sent  to 
them.  Mr.  Van  Lennep,  of  Constantinople,  went  in  obe- 
dience to  the  call,  though  not  to  remain  permanently,  as 
they  had  hoped.  His  visit  was  timely  and  useful.  The 
place  was  afterwards  visited  by  Mr.  Johnston,  by  Dr. 
Smith,  and  by  Mr.  Schneider  ;  and  a  flourishing  church 
was  gathered,  and  one  of  the  largest  congregations  of  Pro- 
testants in  the  Turkish  empire  !  The  condition  of  the 
Armenians  in  all  that  section  of  the  country  was  highly 
encouraging. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  of  1847,  Rev.  Isaac  G-. 
Bliss  and  wife  arrived  in  the  country  from  America,  and 
proceeded  to  join  Mr.  Peabody  in  his  labor  in  Erzrum.  An 
evangelical  Armenian  Church  had  been  organized  there  in 


I 


252  LORD    COWLEY  S    AGENCY. 

April,  and  another  was  formed  in  Brusa  in  July,  making 
seven  in  all  in  the  Turkish  empire. 

The  part  taken  by  Sir  Stratford  Canning  in  securing 
liberty  of  conscience  to  the  subjects  of  Turkey,  has  already 
been  often  alluded  to.  In  the  year  1847  this  worthy  re- 
presentative of  the  British  Grovernment  returned  for  a  sea- 
son to  his  native  land,  and  Lord  Cowley  was  appointed  to 
occupy,  temporarily,  his  place.  He  proved  himself  to  be 
as  warm  and  firm  a  friend  of  religious  freedom  as  his  pre- 
decessor. From  the  moment  of  his  accession  to  this  im- 
portant post,  he  exerted  himself  with  the  most  unremitting 
zeal  to  secure  to  the  Protestant  Armenians  a  distinct  re- 
cognition on  the  part  of  the  Porte,  and  a  formal  organiza- 
tion, which  should  place  them  on  the  same  footing  with 
all  the  other  Christian  communities  in  the  empire.  It 
surely  was  not  by  mere  accident  that  such  representatives 
of  the  British  Grovernment  were  called  successively  to  oc- 
cupy this  place  at  such  a  crisis.  Nor  was  it  by  accident 
that  the  Turkish  ministry  which  came  into  power  just  at 
the  beginning  of  these  trying  times,  was  composed  of  the 
most  liberal  and  intelligent  men  in  the  whole  country.  It 
was  G-od  himself  who  so  timed  events,  that  both  the  Sul- 
tan and  his  ministers,  before  whom  the  frequent  appeals 
of  his  suffering  people  were  to  go  for  deliverance  from  in- 
justice and  oppression,  and  with  whom  the  representatives 
of  the  British  nation  were  to  negotiate  for  religious  free- 
dom, should  be  men  whose  whole  policy  of  government 
was  to  deliver  their  country  from  abuses — to  secure  the 
rights  of  the  individual  subject — to  Obliterate  religious 
distinctions  in  civil  matters — and  separate  as  much  as 
possible  the  Church  from  the  State. 

The  noble  efforts  of  Lord  Cowley  were  crowned  with 


PROTESTANTS    RECOGNIZED    AS    A    COMMUNITY. 

complete  success.  On  the  15th  of  November,  1847,  h 
procured  from  the  Turkish  Oovernment  an  imperial  de- 
cree, recognizing  native  Protestants  as  constituting  a 
separate  and  independent  community  in  Turkey.  In  this 
high  official  paper  it  was  declared  that  *'  no  interference 
whatever  should  be  permitted  in  their  temporal  or  spiritual 
concerns,  on  the  part  of  the  patriarchs,  monks,  or  priests 
of  other  sects."*  This  decree  was  immediately  sent  to  all 
the  Pashas  in  the  interior,  under  whose  jurisdiction  Pro- 
testants were  known  to  exist.  An  individual  elected  by 
the  new  community  was  formally  recognized  by  the  gov- 
ernment as  the  agent  and  representative  of  the  Protestants 
at  the  Porte.  To  those  who  are  most  conversant  with 
Turkey,  and  who  know  what  mighty  influences  have  al- 
ways been  operating  to  prevent  the  spread  of  Protestantism 
in  that  country,  and  how  great  were  the  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  its  formal  recognition  on  the  part  of  the  Turkish 
Government,  it  appears  but  little  less  than  miraculous 
that  this  thing  was  effected  in  so  short  a  time.  To  Grod 
be  all  the  praise  ! 

The  part  taken  by  Lord  Cowley  in  these  transactions, 
led  the  missionaries  to  address  to  him  a  letter  of  acknow- 
ledgment on  the  occasion  of  his  departure  from  the  country, 
in  which  also  the  most  honorable  mention  is  made  of  the 
efficient  instrumentality  of  Sir  Stratford  Canning,  as  well 
as  of  the  liberal  and  humane  policy  of  the  British  Grovern- 
ment  itself.  To  this  communication  a  very  gratifying 
answer  was  received,  clearly  indicating  the  deep  personal 
interest  taken  by  its  writer  in  the  Protestant  movement 
m  Turkey.t 

The  evangelical  brethren  in   Constantinople,  immedi- 

*  See  Appendix  G.  t  See  Appendix  H. 

12 


^M8J# 


254  NEW    IMPULSE    TO    THE    WORK. 

ately  appointed  a  day  for  special  thanksgiving  and 
prayer.  They  had  obtained,  through  the  most  signal  in- 
terpositions of  Providence,  a  governmental  recognition, 
calling  for  their  sincere  and  devout  acknowledgments. 
They  were  placed  in  a  new  and  important  position,  and 
had  urgent  need  of  that  wisdom  and  grace  which  come 
down  from  above,  in  answer  to  fervent  prayer.  Grreat 
was  the  joy  of  the  Protestants  in  every  part  of  the  land, 
though  still  it  was,  in  many  cases,  rejoicing  with  trem- 
bling. At  the  different  missionary  stations  greater  bold- 
ness in  attending  the  preaching  of  the  G-ospel  was  noticed, 
and  a  new  impulse  seemed  to  be  given  to  the  spirit  of  in- 
quiry. In  Erzrum,  those  who  gave  evidence  of  true 
piety,  became  more  active  and  prayerful,  and  some  who 
had  been  convinced  of  the  truth,  but  were  too  timid  to 
join  themselves  with  the  people  of  God,  in  times  of  perse- 
cution, now  began  to  be  seen  at  the  Sabbath  services. 
At  Brusa,  the  missionaries  reported,  that  much  discussion 
of  religious  subjects  prevailed,  and  the  truth  was  gaining 
ground.  At  Trebizond,  the  Church  had  been  carried 
through  a  season  of  sore  internal  trials,  but  with  no  ma- 
terial injury.  The  new  order  of  things  produced  the 
same  effects  there  as  elsewhere,  and  the  brethren  w^ere 
greatly  encouraged.  At  Nicomedia,  the  house  of  God 
became  the  resort  of  many  who,  a  short  time  previously, 
were  found  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy.  The  special 
influences  of  the  Spirit  were  extensively  enjoyed,  though 
in  no  case  except  at  the  Female  Seminary  in  Constanti- 
nople, was  the  movement  general  enough  to  be  designated 
as  a  revival  of  religion.  In  the  district  of  Geghi,  south- 
west of  Erzrum,  containing  from  twelve  to  fifteen  thou- 
sand souls,  Mr.  Peabody  found  very  promising  indications 


STATION    AT    AtNTAB    OCCUPIED.  255 

of  an  extensive  religious  awakening.  Some  had  suffered 
severely  for  the  truth,  but  the  Word  of  Grod  could  not  be 
dislodged  from  their  hearts.  The  vartabed  himself  was 
the  most  decided  evangelical  man  in  the  community. 
For  personal  security,  he  was  obliged  to  flee  to  Erzrum, 
where,  after  a  sufficient  trial,  he  was  received  into  the 
Evangelical  Church  ;  and,  as  the  civil  power  in  his  own 
)rovince  now  protected  the  Protestants,  it  was  expected 
hat  he  would  soon  return  to  Greghi,  to  labor  for  the  spirit- 
ual good  of  his  countrymen.  At  Aintab,  the  develop- 
ment was  more  rapid,  perhaps,  than  anywhere  else.  Mr. 
Schneider,  of  the  Brusa  station,  spent  the  summer  of 
1848  in  labors  there,  during  which  time  the  congregation 
steadily  increased,  and  many  were  affected  to  tears,  un- 
der the  preaching  of  the  Word.  A  very  intelligent  priest 
became  obedient  to  the  faith,  and  his  sincerity  was  called, 
more  than  once,  to  the  severe  test  of  persecution.  He 
remained  firm  to  his  principles  through  all  his  trials.  At 
a  communion  season  in  October,  1848,  seventeen  persons 
were  added  to  the  Church,  five  of  whom  were  females. 
During  the  same  month.  Dr.  Smith  returned  to  Aintab, 
where  he  took  up  his  residence  as  a  missionary  of  the 
Board,  together  with  his  wife.  The  importance  of  the 
station  was  such,  that  it  was  proposed  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Schneider,  of  Brusa,  to  become  permanently  connected 
with  it.  It  was  a  trying  question,  involving  many  sacri- 
fices ;  but  the  call  appearing  plainly  providential,  they 
cheerfully  obeyed.  They  arrived  at  Aintab  on  the  11th 
of  May,  1849.  It  was  a  striking  providence,  that  the 
same  steamer  which  brought  away  Mr.  Schneider  from 
Grhemlik,  the  port  of  Brusa,  carried  back  thither  to  occupy 


256  MR.    SAHAKTAN    ORDATNED. 

his  place,  the  Rev.  Oliver  Crane  and  wife,  who  had  just 
arrived  from  America. 

Among  the  evangelical  Christians  at  Aintab  a  most 
commendable  zeal  had  shown  itself  for  the  spread  of  the 
Gospel  in  the  towns  and  villages  around.  Several  at- 
tempts had  been  made  by  individuals  to  labor  as  colpor- 
teurs, but  they  were  never  suffered  to  remain  long  in  a 
place.  The  Armenian  primates  easily  succeeded  in  per- 
suading the  Turkish  authorities  to  order  them  away  as 
vagabonds.  A  novel  experiment  was  made,  early  in  the 
year  1849,  to  accomplish  the  object  in  view  without  sub- 
jecting themselves  to  the  charge  of  being  mere  idlers,  and 
"  busybodies  in  other  men's  matters."  Five  individuals 
who  had  trades,  went  forth  to  different  towns,  with  their 
tools  in  one  hand,  and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  in  the  other. 
Wherever  they  went  they  worked  at  their  trade,  while,  at 
the  same  time,  they  labored  for  the  spiritual  good  of  the 
people.  The  experiment  succeeded  to  admiration.  The 
spirit  of  religious  inquiry  was  spreading  from  Aintab  in 
almost  all  directions.  The  congregation  in  the  town  itself 
had  become  so  large,  that  two  places  were  opened  for  wor- 
ship at  the  same  time.  And  from  various  towns  and  vil- 
lages throughout  the  country,  the  most  urgent  appeals 
came  from  souls  that  were  hungering  for  the  bread  of  life. 
They  were  found  in  Killis,  Beleren,  Marash,  Orfa,  Diar- 
bekr,  Malatia,  Kharput,  Arghany,  Palu,  Arabkir,  and 
various  other  places,  near  and  remote. 

In  November,  1848,  Mr.  Hohannes  Sahakian,  who  had 
been  educated  in  America,  was  licensed  at  Constantinople 
to  preach  the  G-ospel ;  and  in  the  following  spring,  he  was 
ordained  as  pastor  of  the  evangelical  Armenian  Church  in 
Adabazar,  where  he  has  been  since  laboring  with  great 


i^* 


PROVIDENTIAL    INTERVENTIONS.  257 


diligence  and  success.  Mr.  Khachadur,  a  pupil  of  the 
Bebek  Seminary,  was  licensed  as  a  preacher  in  February, 
4^1849. 

In  Trebizond,  formal  permission  was  given  by  the  gov- 
ernor to  the  Protestants,  to  use  as  a  burying-ground  a 
piece  of  land  purchased  for  this  purpose  three  years  pre- 
viously. As  long  ago  as  January,  1848,  a  vizirial  letter 
had  been  procured,  through  the  generous  efforts  of  Mr. 
Carr,  the  United  States  Minister  at  the  Porte,  ordering  the 
authorities  in  Trebizond  to  see  that  the  Protestants  be 
permitted  to  have  a  cemetery  of  their  own,  but  various 
difficulties  had  prevented  an  earlier  accomplishment  of  the 
design. 

The  year  1848  was  remarkable  for  the  number  and  ex- 
tent of  its  conflagrations  in  the  city  of  Constantinople  ; 
and  among  the  providential  interpositions  in  behalf  of  the 
Protestant  cause,  must  be  mentioned  the  fact,  that  in  five 
or  six  different  instances  the  devouring  element  ap- 
proached so  near  to  our  chapel  and  Female  Seminary  in 
Pera,  as  to  leave  but  a  faint  hope  that  they  would  escape  ; 
and  once  even  they  actually  began  to  burn,  but  the  flames 
were  speedily  extinguished.  Again  and  again  was  it 
shouted  in  the  camp  of  the  enemy,  "  The  Protestant  Chapel 
is  consumed  ;"  but,  in  each  case,  an  unseen  hand  was 
stretched  out  to  arrest  the  destroyer,  and  save  the  Protes- 
tant cause  from  so  great  a  disaster. 

From  all  that  has  now  been  narrated,  it  is  evident  that 
the  Patriarch  Matteos'  plans  for  the  overthrow  of  Protest- 
antism in  the  country,  met  with  a  most  signal  failure. 
His  own  removal  from  office  is  the  last  record  to  be  made 
in  this  chapter.  He  was  found  guilty  of  various  frauds 
upon  the  public  treasury,  and,  according  to  the  official 


258  DEGRADATION    OF    MATTEOS    PATRIARCH. 

announcement  of  the  case  in  the  French  journal  of  Con- 
stantinople, "  of  acts  of  injustice  inconsistent  with  patri- 
archal dignity."  He  was  accordingly  degraded,  and  sen- 
tenced to  banishment.  A  friendly  banker,  however, 
became  surety  for  him,  and  procured  his  release  from  this 
part  of  the  punishment.  He  has  since  been  living  in  re- 
tirement on  the  shores  of  the  Bosphorus. 


C  H  APT  E  R     XII. 

The  two  Conflicting  Parties — Preaching  Christ — Character  of  Native  Pas- 
tors— Male  and  Female  Seminaries — The  Press — Native  Churches  self- 
supporting — Working  of  the  System — Character  of  Church  Members — 
Present  aspect  of  the  Work — State  of  the  Armenian  Church — Crisis 
approaching — Anticipations  of  the  Future. 

The  record  now  made  of  the  struggles  of  spirituality 
against  formalism  in  Turkey,  is  only  a  repetition,  in  sub- 
stance, of  what  has  occurred  in  this  world,  hundreds  of 
times  before.  And,  as  in  the  present  instance,  the  many 
have  usually  been  arrayed  against  the  few ;  wealth 
against  poverty ;  strength  against  weakness.  On  the 
side  of  the  assailants  have  been  age,  experience,  and  cun- 
ning ;  on  the  side  of  the  assailed,  youth,  ignorance,  and 
simplicity.  With  the  former  have  been  all  the  advan- 
tages of  an  awe-inspiring  antiquity,  covering  with  its 
sacred  mantle,  which  it  were  the  most  daring  profaneness 
to  remove,  its  symbols  of  faith,  its  rites  and  ceremonies, 
and  its  religious  and  priestly  order.  While  the  latter  could 
boast  of  neither  priesthood  nor  church  ;  altar  nor  gor- 
geous rites  ;  in  short,  of  nothing  external  calculated  to 
inspire  terror,  or  even  to  attract  notice.     That  the  weak 


260  PREACHING    CHRIST. 

side  in  this  conflict  should  almost  uniformly  prove  victo- 
rious, is  easily  explained,  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  who 
believe  the  Bible.  On  the  one  side,  all  is  human  ;  on  the 
other,  all  is  divine.  And  God  works  by  instruments  of 
his  own,  choosing  "  the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  con- 
found the  wise,  and  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  con- 
found the  things  that  are  mighty  ;  and  base  things  of  the 
world,  and  things  which  are  despised  ;  yea,  and  things 
which  are  not,  to  bring  to  naught  things  that  are  ;  that 
no  flesh  should  glory  in  his  presence." 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  preceding  narrative,  that  the 
principal  means  used  by  the  missionaries,  and  those 
native  brethren  who  have  been  called  to  aid  in  this  work, 
was  the  preaching  of  "  Christ  and  him  crucified."  For 
several  years,  the  work  of  reform  went  on  without  the 
formal  preaching  of  the  word,  though  even  then  the  Gos- 
pel was  preached,  assiduously,  to  multitudes,  in  a  private 
way.  As  soon,  however,  as  congregations  could  be 
gathered,  we  availed  ourselves  of  this  method  of  acting 
on  the  popular  mind,  and  experience  among  the  Arme- 
nians, as  elsewhere,  has  fully  attested  the  paramount 
importance  of  public  and  formal  preaching,  as  an  instru- 
ment in  the  hands  of  the  foreign  missionary.  The  style 
of  preaching  has  been  plain,  simple,  and  direct,  though 
probably  much  more  elevated  than  would  be  practicable 
among  the  heathen  ;  as  the  Armenians  possess,  in  general, 
a  far  higher  intellectual  character  to  begin  with.  In  the 
composition  of  sermons,  our  method  has  not  differed  es- 
sentially from  that  which  has  usually  been  prevalent  in 
America,  though  in  no  case,  so  far  as  the  knowledge  of 
the  author  goes,  are  the  missionaries  in  the  habit  of 
preaching  written  discourses. 


MALE    AND    FEMALE    SEMINARIES.  261 

The  five  native  pastors  settled  over  evangelical  churches 
in  Turkey,  were  all  trained,  in  part  or  entirely,  under  the 
missionaries  of  the  Board.  Three  of  them  were  educated 
at  the  Bebek  Seminary,  and  one  in  America.  They  are, 
in  general,  strong-minded  and  industrious  men;  men  of 
intellectual  culture  and  logical  power  ;  and,  what  is  more 
than  all,  of  faith,  and  prayer,  and  ardent  zeal  in  the  ser- 
vice of  Christ.  In  effective  public  speaking,  some  of 
them  would  not  suffer,  in  comparison  with  our  best 
preachers,  of  the  same  age,  in  America. 

Education  and  the  press  have  been  two  powerful  aux- 
iliaries to  the  living  preacher.  Our  male  and  female 
seminaries  we  have  designed  to  make  as  thorough  and  ef- 
ficient as  possible  in  promoting  the  objects  of  their  forma- 
tion. The  course  of  study  is  intended  to  be  such  as  to 
secure,  in  the  highest  degree,  the  discipline  of  the  mind ; 
and  it  is  believed  that  at  no  similar  institutions  in  America 
is  this  end  more  fully  attained.  At  the  same  time  reli- 
gion is  interwoven  with  all  other  studies,  and  made  ever 
to  stand  out  as  pre-eminently  the  subject  upon  which  all 
the  mental  and  moral  powers  of  man  should  be  concen- 
trated. The  relations  of  these  seminaries  to  the  newly 
formed  evangelical  churches,  are  becoming  more  and  more 
important.  The  work  of  reform  which  has  commenced, 
must,  under  (rod,  be  carried  on  chiefly  through  the  agency 
of  a  native  ministry,  and  this  ministry  must  be  trained  on 
the  ground.  This  simple  statement  tells  the  whole  story, 
and  shows  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  over-estimate  the 
importance  of  well  sustaining  the  Seminary  at  Bebek.  Nor 
can  we  justify  ourselves  in  using  language  less  strong  or 
emphatic  in  reference  to  the  Female  Semiijary,  when  we 
12* 


262  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  PRESS. 

think  of  the  influence,  for  good  or  for  evil,  of  the  wives  and 
mothers  of  any  community. 

The  press  has  proved  itself  a  most  powerful  engine  in  car- 
rying forward  this  work.  Nicomedia,  Adabazar,  and  Ain- 
tab  may  be  singled  out  from  many  other  smaller  place*, 
as  furnishing  most  instructive  examples  of  what  Grod  has 
done  to  revive  true  religion,  through  means  of  the  press 
alone.  Probably  not  fewer  than  seventy  or  eighty  different 
works  have  been  published  by  the  missionaries  of  the 
Board,  in  the  Armenian  and  Armeno-Turkish  languages. 
Many  of  these  have  been  written  on  the  ground,  though 
most  are  translations  from  the  English  and  other  lan- 
guages. Among  the  latter  are  Pilgrim's  Progress  and 
D'Aubigne's  History  of  the  Reformation.  The  whole 
Bible  has  been  translated  and  published  in  the  Armeno- 
Turkish,  and  the  New  Testament,  and  a  large  part  of  the 
Old,  in  the  modern  Armenian  dialect.  The  whole  of  the 
latter  will  ere  long  be  completed.  Periodicals  have  also 
been  published,  and  doctrinal  books  and  tracts  adapted  to 
the  state  of  the  public  mind.  These  publications  have 
found  their  way  to  almost  every  nook  and  corner  of  the 
land,  and  they  are  at  this  moment  more  widely  circulated 
and  better  received  than  ever  before. 

In  no  case  are  the  native  pastors  or  the  native  Protestant 
schools  (except  the  two  Seminaries),  entirely  supported  at 
the  expense  of  the  Board.  For  these  objects  the  churches 
contribute,  generally,  to  the  extent  of  their  ability,  and 
the  amount  is  increasing  from  year  to  year ;  but,  being 
feeble  at  the  best,  they  need  help,  and  the  funds  of  the 
Board  are  cautiously  appropriated  to  supply  deficiencies. 
This  aid,  however,  is  only  for  the  present  distress,  and  will 
be  withdrawn  as  soon  as  they  are  able  to  stand  alone. 


CHARACTERISTICS    OF    THE    NATIVE    CHURCH,  263 

The  system  of  Church  organization  adopted  in  Turkey 
thus  far  works  well.  Difficulties  have  occurred,  particu- 
larly at  Constantinople  and  Trebizond,  but  they  have  been 
fewer  than  were  anticipated,  and  more  easily  healed. 
They  arose  in  part  from  inexperience,  and  in  part  from  the 
union  of  great  scrupulosity  of  conscience  with  little 
knowledge.  Some  few  cases  of  moral  obliquity  have  oc- 
curred among  the  church  members,  and  they  have  been 
dealt  with  according  to  the  rules  of  Christ.  Discipline 
has  been  uniformly  maintained,  and  the  good  effects  of 
strictness  on  this  point  are  quite  manifest.  All  the 
churches  have  gained  in  experience,  chiefly  by  the  trials 
through  which  they  have  passed,  and  now  they  understand 
far  better  than  at  first,  the  relations  of  the  members  to  the 
Church,  and  of  the  Church  to  its  members. 

The  standard  of  piety  is  high ;  and  for  simplicity  of  faith, 
and  a  full,  and  peaceful,  and  joyful  trust  in  Christ,  many 
of  our  Armenian  brethren  might  be  held  up  as  examples 
to  Christians  in  more  favored  lands.  The  forms  of  wor- 
ship among  them  are  essentially  copied  from  the  prevalent 
usages  in  our  churches  in  America.  The  singing  is  al- 
ways strictly  congregational,  in  which  all  join  with  a 
heartiness  that  is  truly  affecting.  This  part  of  the  wor- 
ship of  Grod  is  to  each  and  every  one  of  them  an  important 
means  of  grace,  the  loss  of  which  would  be  disastrous  to 
their  spirituality.  The  missionary  zeal  of  the  Armenian 
Christians  has  already  been  alluded  to,  as  one  of  the 
striking  characteristics  of  their  piety.  It  does  not  expend 
itself  on  its  own  people,  but,  like  the  spirit  of  primitive 
Christianity,  it  seeks  to  do  good  to  the  whole  race  of  man. 

The  present  aspect  of  the  work  of  God  among  the  Ar- 
menian.'^  of  Turkey  is  highly  cheering.     A  numerical  es- 


"204  STATE    OF    THE    ARMENIAN    CHURCH. 

timate  of  the  strength  of  the  existing  evangelical  commu- 
nities, would  present  an  entirely  erroneous  view  of  the  true 
strength  of  Protestantism  in  the  country.  During  the 
eighteen  years  of  missionary  labor  in  behalf  of  that  people, 
involving  much  inquiry  and  much  discussion,  new  thoughts 
and  new  opinions  have  found  a  lodgment  in  many  minds. 
The  constant  presentation  of  Scripture  truth  for  so  long  a 
time,  in  conversation,  in  the  pulpit,  and  from  the  press, 
has  not  been  powerless  on  the  Armenian  community,  as 
such.  One  error  after  another  has  given  place  to  the  truth  ; 
and  now,  many  of  those  who  still  claim  to  be  faithful  sons 
of  the  Church,  boast  that  the  Armenians  are  free  from 
certain  superstitions  and  observances  which  only  a  few 
years  ago  were  considered  as  the  test  of  their  orthodoxy, 
and  as  their  glory  and  their  pride.  The  symbols  of  super- 
stition are  also  gradually  disappearing  from  their  churches. 
Reverence  for  the  clergy  and  a  dread  of  their  anathemas, 
have  given  place  extensively  to  disgust  for  their  selfish- 
ness and  duplicity,  hatred  of  their  cruelty,  and  contempt 
of  their  power.  The  Bible,  in  an  intelligible  language,  is 
extensively  read,  and  the  opinions  and  practices  of  the 
Church  continually  compared  wdth  its  teachings.  Thou- 
sands who  still  remain  in  the  old  connection,  are  intellec- 
tually convinced  that  evangelical  Protestantism  is  true ; 
and  some  among  them,  no  doubt,  have  heartily  embraced 
the  doctrines  their  intellects  approve.  Some  belonging  to 
this  class  are  active  reformers,  who  are  constantly  em- 
ployed in  circulating  the  Scriptures  and  other  publications 
from  our  press,  and  making  known  the  truth  even  as  it  is 
in  Jesus.  The  pastors  and  members  of  the  evangelical 
churches,  also,  are  now  permitted  to  have  free  intercourse 
with  their  brethren  who  remain  in  the  ancient  Church. 


ANTICIPATIONS    OF    THE    FUTURE.  265 

The  force  of  the  anathema  has  expended  itself,  and  a 
friendly  intercourse  is  once  more  maintained  between  the 
Protestant  and  Armenian  parties.  The  children  of  the 
latter  are  sent  to  the  Protestant  schools,  and  the  adults  are 
more  and  more  in  the  habit  of  attending  the  Protestant 
places  of  worship.  Evangelical  sentiments  are  spreading 
in  the  land.  A  spirit  of  inquiry  extensively  prevails,  and 
free  discussions  are  allowed.  Never,  from  the  beginning, 
did  the  Armenian  mission  see  a  day  of  more  intense  in- 
terest or  brighter  promise  than  the  present.  The  enemies 
of  spiritual  religion  are  still  busy,  but  so  are  its  friends. 
Another  crisis  must  soon  come  on,  another  exodus  from  a 
corrupt  Church  ;  but  it  will  be  on  a  far  grander  scale  than 
before.  The  progress  must  be  onward  towards  the  light, 
and  not  backward  towards  the  darkness.  Nothing  but 
the  enlightening,  renewing,  and  sanctifying  influences  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  however,  can  render  the  movement  a  real 
blessing. 

The  narrative  is  now  finished,  but  not  the  work  of  Grod 
which  has  been  so  imperfectly  sketched.  And  while  our 
hearts  throb  with  holy  gratitude  and  joy,  in  view  of  what 
G-od  hath  wrought,  may  we  not  confidently  anticipate  that 
still  more  wondrous  scenes  will  be  exhibited  on  that  chosen 
theatre  of  his  love  and  power  ?  He  has  his  instruments 
prepared.  Even  the  schemes  of  politicians  and  the  enter- 
prises of  commercial  men,  he  subsidizes,  and  compels  to 
contribute  to  the  accomplishment  of  his  purposes.  He 
moves  governments  and  associations  of  men  to  make  high- 
ways by  steam  through  the  deep,  to  facilitate  the  march 
of  his  kingdom.  All  power,  all  resources,  all  hearts  are 
in  his  hand.     What  is  too  hard  for  him  ? 

But  where  is  our  devotion  to  the  cause  ?  Where  is  our 
12 


266  DUTY    OF    CHRISTIANS. 

love  to  our  fellow-men  ?  "Where  are  our  tithes  and  offer- 
ings ?  Where  is  our  self-denial  ?  Where  are  our  prayers  ? 
Oh !  what  higher  honor  or  joy  can  a  disciple  of  Christ  desire, 
or  possess,  than  to  be  a  co-worker  with  the  great  God  in 
bringing  a  wandering  and  rebellious  world  back  to  its  al- 
legiance to  the  King  of  kings,  and  in  conferring  on  the 
miserable  and  the  perishing  the  infinite  privileges  and 
blessings  of  the  Grospel ! 


n 


APPENDIX, 


FIRST    ANATHEMA    OF    THE    PRIEST    VERTANES. 

"  From  Matteos,  the  Lord  Archbishop  and  Patriarch  of  the 
great  metropolitan  city  of  Constantinople,  to  all  our  Spirtual  Ec- 
clesiastical Officers,  and  to  our  Armenian  Laity,  salutation  in 
Jesus  Christ. 

"  The  holy  apostle  Paul,  the  chosen  vessel  of  the  Grrace  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  has  well  counselled  the  servants  of  the  church  of  God, 
of  every  rank  and  grade,  how  the  clergy  especially  should  stand 
firm  in  faith  and  conversation,  with  holiness  and  purity  ;  how  the 
elders  and  priests,  who  are  ministers  of  the  divine  and  holy  sa- 
craments, should  be  nourished  by  the  holy  faith,  and  become  ex- 
amples to  the  faithful  in  doctrine,  life,  charity,  faith  and  holiness  ; 
not  to  neglect  the  grace  of  God  which  was  given  them  by  the  lay- 
ing on  of  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery  ;  and  to  take  heed  to 
themselves  and  to  their  doctrines,  so  as  to  both  save  themselves 
and  those  that  hear  them.  AU  this  has  the  apostle  transmitted  in 
writing  to  Timothy,  saying,  (i.  6,)  '  Wherefore  I  put  thee  in  re- 
membrance that  thou  stir  up  the  gift  of  God,  which  is  in  thee,  by 
the  putting  on  of  thy  hand.  That  good  thing  which  was  com- 
mitted to  thee,  keep  by  the  Holy  Ghost  which  dwelleth  in  us. 
Study  to  show  thyself  approved  unto  God,  a  workman  that  need- 
eth  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth.  O 
Timothy,  keep  that  which  is  committed  to  thy  trust,  avoiding 


268  APPENDIX. 

profane  aud  vain  babblings  and  oppositions  of  science  falsely  so 
called.' 

"  But  now  in  these  latter  times,  as  according  to  the  inspired 
prophecy  of  the  apostle,  some  have  departed  from  the  holy  faith, 
and  turned  aside  to  the  impiety  and  seduction  of  devils,  speaking 
falsehood  in  hypocrisy,  deceived  by  their  own  consciences  and  fol- 
lowing their  sinful  lusts,  they  finally  arrive  at  perdition  in  new 
fangled  oppositions  and  errors. 

"  Of  these  there  is  one  in  our  nation,  a  contemptible  wretch, 
the  unworthy  priest  Vertanes,  of  Nicomedia.  He  was  some  time 
since  ordained  over  the  Church  in  Nicomedia,  by  the  spiritually 
illuminated  Archbishop  Boghos,  of  that  city.  This  fellow,  fol- 
lowing his  carnal  lusts,  leaves  the  Church  and  his  sacred  office, 
and,  like  a  vagabond  going  about  through  the  metropolis  and  Ni- 
comedia, babbles  out  errors,  unworthy  of  his  sacred  office  and 
dignity,  and  becomes  an  occasion  of  stumbling  to  many.  And 
altogether  throwing  aside  the  holiness  of  faith,  which  he  had  re- 
ceived in  the  holy  and  catholic  Armenian  Church,  he  follows  the 
erroneous  doctrines  of  Modern  Sectaries^  and  begins  to  preach 
their  error  in  Nicomedia,  Cesarea,  Anatolia,  and  in  Constantinople, 
and  in  every  place  wherever  he  sets  his  impious  foot,  and  to 
overwhelm  the  simple  people  in  spiritual  destruction.  After  all 
this,  on  his  return  to  Constantinople  we  called  him  to  us  kindly, 
conversed  with  him  many  times,  beseechingly  and  mildly,  and 
gave  him  spiritual  counsel  necessary  and  usefr.l  to  disrobe  him  of 
the  impiety  of  his  wayward  course,  and  to  robe  him  again  in  the 
glorious  vestments  of  the  holy  and  catholic  doctrines  of  the  Ar- 
menian Church.  But  he  remained  obstinately  bent  upon  his 
wickedness,  after  the  example  of  Judas,  who  regarded  not  the 
divine  command  of  our  Saviour,  Jesus,  when,  in  the  presence  of 
the  other  apostles,  he  said  of  Judas,  ^  But  woe  to  that  man  by 
whom  the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  ;  good  were  it  for  that  man  if 
he  had  never  been  born.'  To  this  Judas  did  not  listen,  and  did  not 
wish  ever  to  think  of  it,  for  he  did  not  wish  to  forsake  his  wicked- 
ness, which  he  was  prepared  to  do.     In  like  manner  this  fellow, 


APPENDIX.  269 

not  wishing  to  expel  the  Satanic  spirit  from  himself,  and,  in  order 
to  accomplish  his  desires,  has  rejected  the  holy  grace  of  God, 
which  he  received  in  ordination.  He  has  despised  the  holy  cove- 
nant which  he  covenanted  with  God,  on  receiving  the  holy  order 
of  the  priesthood.  He  has  denied  the  Church  of  Christ  which 
begat  him,  he  has  denied  the  holy  laver  which  received  him  into 
Sonship  to  his  heavenly  Father.  And  this  his  impiety  he  has 
shown  not  only  by  word  and  deed  ;  but  his  own  manuscript,  which 
we  have  by  us,  has  vomited  out  the  gall  of  bitterness  which  was 
in  his  heart. 

"  And  since  that  deceiver  endeavors  to  creep  into  houses,  and 
to  travel  here  and  there  in  order  to  deceive  our  simple-minded 
people  to  the  perdition  of  the  soul,  therefore  hasting  to  warn  my 
beloved  in  the  faith,  I  remind  you  of  the  apostolical  counsel,  '  A 
man  that  is  a  heretic  after  the  first  and  second  admonition,  reject, 
knowing  that  he  that  is  such,  is  subverted  and  sinneth,  being  con- 
demned of  himself.'  Tit.  iii.  10.  For  if  he  that  despised  Moses' 
law  perished  without  mercy,  of  how  much  sorer  punishmeiit  do 
you  think  him  worthy  who  has  despised  the  immaculate  bride  of 
Christ,  the  holy  Church  ?  Behold  this  man  deliberately  and  wil- 
fully has  wandered  from  the  unity  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  an 
enemy  of  the  holy  Churchy  a  divider  of  her  members,  a  cause  of 
scandal,  a  seducer  of  the  people,  a  traitor  and  murderer  of  Christ, 
a  child  of  the  devil,  and  an  offspring  of  Antichrist ^  worse  than  an 
infidel,  or  a  heathen,  since,  under  the  semblance  of  faith,  he 
teaches  the  impieties  and  seductions  of  Modern  Sectaries. 

"  Therefore  according  to  the  declaration  of  our  Lord,  ^  Be- 
ware of  false  prophets,  who  come  to  you  in  sheep's  clothing,  but 
inwardly  they  are  ravening  wolves,  who  will  not  spare  the  flock,' 
(Matt.  vii.  15,)  behold  this  is  a  ravening  and  rending  wolf,  who 
in  sheep's  clothing,  that  is,  under  the  appearance  of  prie«tly 
virtue,  comes  to  you,  to  rend  and  devour  you,  and  to  lacerate  the 
innocent  lambs,  the  children  of  our  holy  Church,  with  the  wicked 
and  hellish  teeth  of  his  filthy  mouth. 

"  Wherefore  we  expel  him  and  forbid  him  as  a  Devil,  and  a 


270  APPENDIX. 

child  of  the  Devil,  to  enter  the  company  of  our  believers.  We 
cut  him  off  from  the  priesthood  as  an  amputated  member  of  the 
spiritual  body  of  Christ,  and  as  a  branch  cut  off  from  the  vine, 
which  is  good  for  nothing  but  to  be  cast  into  the  fire.  By  this 
admonitory  bull,  I  therefore  command  and  warn  my  beloved  in 
every  city  far  and  near,  not  to  look  upon  his  face,  regarding  it  as 
the  face  of  Belial ;  not  to  receive  him  into  your  holy  dwelling, 
for  he  is  a  house  destroying  and  ravening  wolf ;  not  to  receive 
his  salutation,  but  as  a  soul-destroying  and  deadly  poison ;  and 
to  beware,  with  all  your  households,  of  the  seducing  and  impious 
followers  of  the  false  doctrine  of  Modern  Sectaries  ;  and  to  pray 
for  them,  to  the  God  who  rcmembereth  not  iniquity,  if  perchance 
tiiey  may  repent,  and  turn  from  their  wicked  paths,  and  secure 
the  salvation  of  their  souls,  through  the  grace  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  blessed  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen. 

"  This  bull  was  written  under  the  shadow  of  the  Cathedral 
Church  of  the  holy  mother  of  God,  at  the  Patriarchate  of  all 
the  Armenians,  this  12th  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord, 
1846,  Constantinople." 


B 


SECOND    ANATHEMA     OF    THE     ARMENIAN    PATRIARCH,    ANATHE- 
MATIZING   THE  WHOLE    BODY    OF    EVANGELICAL    ARMENIANS. 

"  Be  it  known  to  the  pious  flock  of  our  Church  in  the  metro- 
polis, that  on  the  last  Sabbath,  the  decree  of  Anathema  was  read 
for  the  information  of  the  pious,  but  some  of  the  people  under- 
stood it  as  referring  only  to  the  cursed  nonentity  Vertanes,  falsely 
called  priest,  and  not  also  to  the  others.  Wherefore  we  considered 
it  necessary  to  day  to  repeat  it,  and  to  inform  you,  that  not 
only  that  cursed  one,  (Vertanes)  but  also  all  that  are  of  his  sen- 
timents, deceivers  and  blasphemers  against  the  Church,  and 
followers  of  the  corrupt  new  sectj  are  accursed   and  exoommuni- 


APPENDIX.  271 

cated  and  anathematized,  by  God,  and  by  all  his  saints,  and 
by  us. 

"  Wherefore,  whoever  has  a  son,  that  is  such  an  one,  or  a 
brother,  or  a  partner  (in  business)  and  gives  him  breads  or  assists 
him  in  making  money ^  or  has  intercourse  with  him  as  a  friend 
or  does  business  with  him — let  such  persons  know  that  they  are 
nourishing  a  venomous  serpent  in  their  houses,  which  will  one 
day  injure  them  with  its  deadly  poison,  and  they  will  lose  their 
souls.  Such  persons  give  bread  to  Judas.  Such  persons  are 
enemies  of  the  holy  faith  of  Christianity,  and  destroyers  of  the 
holy  orthodox  Church  of  the  Armenians,  and  a  disgrace  to  the 
whole  nation.  Wherefore,  their  houses  and  shops  also  are  ac- 
cursed;  and  whoever  goes  to  visit  them,  we  shall  learn,  and  make 
them  public  to  the  holy  Church  by  terrible  anathemas.  For  in 
these  days  there  are  some  of  the  poisoned  individuals  who  have 
become  acquainted  with  their  awful  error,  and  having  undertaken 
the  necessary  penance  with  repentance,  they  confess  their  sin — 
whom  God  forgives  through  the  intercession  of  the  holy  Church, 
and  our  holy  Church  also  receives.  On  which  account  we  now  wait 
that  we  may  receive  all  who  will  return, — and  at  last,  as  many 
souls  as  remain  wicked  and  hardened,  who,  receiving  bodily  sup- 
port or  monthly  wages,  deny  their  church,  and  like  Judas,  betray 
Christ  through  love  of  money  ; — these  also,  by  their  names  and 
places,  we  shall  publish  to  all  our  churches  far  and  near,  with 
terrible  anathema. 

"  Wherefore  by  this  my  letter  of  notification,  I  again  command 
and  warn  the  pious  to  keep  aloof  from  those  wicked  deceivers  ; — 
for  the  love  of  the  holy  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  glory  of  the 
holy  Church,  and  the  interest  and  advantage  of  your  own  souls. 

"  Farewell ;  and  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with 
you  all.     Amen." 


t 


272  APPENDIX. 

H^if  PAPER  OF  RECANTATION.* 

*'  Our  most  Honorable  and  Spiritual  Father  : 

"  Having  been,  by  God's  special  Providence,  born  in  the  holy 
and  spotless  Christian  religion,  and  particularly  having  been 
nourished  in  the  Catholic  doctrines  of  the  holy  Armenian  Church, 
with  whatever  honor  and  love  we  may  show  filial  obedience  to  the 
same  holy  Church,  still  it  is  evident  that  for  such  distinguished 
favors  we  can  never  make  a  sufficient  return.  But  alas  !  that 
being  deceived  by  the  wicked  enticements  of  Satan,  besides  being 
found  wanting  in  our  duty,  we  separated  from  the  spotless  bosom 
of  the  same  holy  Church,  and  rejecting  her  apostolic,  sound  and 
saving  doctrine,  we  were  caught  in  the  loose  and  soul-destroying 
doctines  of  the  New  Sectaries.  And  thus  we  not  only  despised 
our  immaculate  Mother,  the  Holy  Church,  who  regenerated  us  by 
the  holy  laver  to  be  the  sons  of  God,  but  we  were  also  found  op- 
posers  of  the  infallible  command  of  Christ  Jesus,  who  has  given 
to  his  holy  Church,  the  power  of  being  invincible  to  the  gates  of 
hell.  We  have  also  sinned  against  the  mighty  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  who  guides  the  Church  of  Christ  ever  to  remain  in  infalli- 
ble truth  ;  and  finally  we  have  lightly  esteemed  the  free  graca  of 
God  the  Father,  who  was  pleased  to  create  us  in  this  holy  faith, 
as  the  single  and  only  means  of  becoming  the  heirs  of  his  glory. 

"  Behold,  we  were  lovingly  joined  to  this  impious  sect,  and  until 

now,  we  wilfully  remained  obstinate  in  this  error.     But  when  the 

holy  Church,  by  the  God-given  power  of  your  high  priesthood, 

after  having  again  and  again  resorted  to  counsel,  and  the  means 

necessary  to  correct  us,  brandished  her  two-edged  and  Christ-given 

sword,  which  pierceth  even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and 

spirit,  of  the  joints  and  marrow,  immediately  the  bands  of  our 

*  It  is  written  as  from  the  mouth  of  those  who  recant,  and  is  addressed 
to  the  Patriarch. 


*^  APPENDIX.  273 

soul  were  broken,  and  the  stupor  wbich  reigned  over  our  hearts, 
dispelled ;  the  obstinacy  of  our  wills  relaxed,  we  awoke  from  our 
beastly  Nebuchadnezzar-like  irrationality,  and  became  aware  that 
what  we  had  done  was  against  the  Divine  power,  and  that  the 
preaching  of  those  deceiving  New  Sectaries,  which  we  had  heartily 
received,  was  nothing  else  but  an  invention  of  arrogance,  a  snare 
of  Satan,  a  sect  of  confusion,  a  broad  road  which  leadeth  to  de- 
struction. 

"  Wherefore,  repenting  of  these  our  impious  deeds,  of  our  own 
will  and  choice  we  have  fled  again  to  the  bosom  of  our  immacu- 
late and  holy  Armenian  Church  ;  and,  in  order  to  excite  her  gra- 
cious compassion  towards  us,  receiving  your  Spiritual  and  Chris- 
tian authority  as  our  Mediator,  we  cry,  "  Father,  we  have  sinned 
against  heaven  and  before  thee,"  in  order  that  she  may  grant  us 
forgiveness  with  a  forgetful  indulgence  towards  our  former  disso- 
lute lives  ;  and  whatever  penance  she  may  impose  we  will  wil- 
lingly perform  ;  and  we  confess  that  the  faith  of  the  holy  Church 
is  spotless,  her  sacraments  Divine,  her  rites  of  apostolic  origin, 
her  ritual  pious.  And  whatever  this  same  holy  Church  receiveth, 
whether  it  be  a  matter  of  faith  or  ceremony,  we  also  receive ; 
and  whatever  doctrines  she  rejects,  we  also  like  her  reject  with 
anathemas.  And  this  truth,  which  we  here  express  by  word  and 
letter,  we  also  confess  with  our  heart  and  mind,  before  the  heart- 
searching  God.  And  if  by  cherishing  in  our  hearts  something 
different  from  what  we  here  assert,  we  design  to  deceive  the  holy 
Church  by  practising  hypocrisy,  then  may  we  be  regarded  as  par- 
takers of  the  sin,  and  liable  to  the  punishment  of  Ananias  and 
Sapphira,  who  lied  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  fountain  of  truth. 

'*  And  if  through  fear,  or  for  temporal  advantage,  or  in  order 
not  to  give  up  our  own  opinions,  after  now  making  this  confes- 
sion, we  return  to  our  former  impious  way,  and  to  the  error  of 
those  accursed  New  Sectaries,  and  visit  them,  or  those  like  them, 
or  have  any  intercourse  whatever  with  them  ;  then,  even  though 
we  should  repent,  let  punishment  spiritual  and  temporal  be  imme- 
diately executed  upon  us 


274  APPENDIX. 

"  And  now,  in  order  to  demonstrate  that  we  receive  with  all  our 
hearts  everything  we  have  confessed,  we  now  sign  and  affix  our 
seals  each  with  his  own  hand, — once  haters,  but  now,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  penitent  children  of  the  holy  and  catholic  Arme- 
nian Church." 


D 

THE    patriarch's    "  NEW    CREED." 

1 .  "Do  you  confess  and  receive,  that  faith  alone  cannot  save  a 
man  ;  but  with  faith  there  must  also  be  good  works ;  and  that 
not  good  works,  but  the  making  of  a  confession  in  accordance 
with  the  belief  of  the  universal  Church,  is  the  sign  that  a  Christian 
has  the  true  faith." 

2.  "  Do  you  confess  and  receive,  that  the  Church  of  Christ  in 
this  world  is  the  visible  company  of  believers,  confessing  and  not 
concealing  their  faith,  and  is  called  The  Church  Militant,  and 
that  the  head  of  that  Holy  Church  is  Christ,  and  that  it  is  govern- 
ed by  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  (i.  e.  its  governors  act 
under  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit — Tr.)  and  will  never 
cease  nor  fail  to  the  end  of  time  ;  it  has  never  erred  and  never 
can  err ;  and  that  there  is  not  a  single  truth  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures which  is  not  acknowledged  by  the  Holy  Church  ?" 

3.  '*  Do  you  confess  and  receive  the  seven  Sacraments  of  the 
Church,  which  are  Baptism,  Confirmation,  Penance,  Communion, 
Ordination,  Matrimony,  and  Extreme  Unction ;  and  that  those 
Sacraments  cannot  be  administered  by  any  private  Christian,  but 
only  by  a  regularly  ordained  Catholicos,  or  bishop,  or  priest,  who 
alone  has  authority  to  administer  them,  and  that  authority  they 
have  received  from  Christ,  through  him  who  ordained  them  ?" 

4.  "  Do  you  confess  and  receive,  that  man,  in  order  to  be  an 
heir  of  eternal  salvation,  must  be  baptized ;  that  while  unbap- 
tized  he  is  out  of  the  church,  and  has  no  salvation ^  even  though  he 


APPENDIX.  275 

had  never  sinried  at  all  ;  likewise  that  until  he  confesses  his  sins, 
with  every  single  circumstance,  and  with  perfect  repentance,  be- 
fore a  priest,  and  submits  to  the  penance  imposed  by  the  priest, 
he  cannot  receive  the  forgiveness  of  his  sins  and  absolution,  nor 
become  worthy  of  eternal  glory.  Nay,  if  he  has  confessed,  and 
should  die  before  performing  the  penance,  or  in  light  and  involun- 
tary sins  after  confession,  the  soul  of  such,  by  the  prayer  of  the 
Churchy  by  the  deathless  sacrifice,  (  of  the  mass,)  and  by  special 
almSj  is  purified  and  becomes  worthy  of  eternal  glory  ?" 

5.  *'  Do  you  confess  and  receive,  that  the  mystery  of  the  Holy 
Communion  is  the  true  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  and  that  who- 
ever does  not  partake  of  the  Communion  in  this  belief  is  under 
eternal  condemnation  ?" 

6.  "Do  you  confess  and  receive  that  the  Holy  Virgin  Mary, 
having  brought  forth  Christ-God,  is  the  mother  of  God,  and  that 
both  at  the  time  of  his  birth,  and  afterwards,  her  virginity  re- 
mained unimpaired,  that  she  is  ever  virgin,  and  worthy  of  honor 
above  all  the  saints ;  and  that  the  holy  wooden  cross,  having  been 
stained  by  the  Divine  blood  of  Christ,  and  other  holy  and  anoint- 
ed crosses,  on  account  of  being  the  image  of  this,  are  worthy  of 
adoration.  Likewise,  that  the  intercession  of  the  saints  is  accept- 
able to  God,  and  their  relics  and  anointed  pictures  worthy  of 
honor,  and  that  God  always  works  miracles  by  means  both  of 
the  holy  cross  and  holy  relics  .^" 

7.  "Do  you  confess  and  receive, that  to  believe  in  the  Church, 
means,  to  believe  those  things  which  the  universal  Holy  Church 
unitedly  believes,  and  to  believe  them  in  the  same  way  she  does  .^" 

"  Do  you  thus  believe  the  Holy  Church,  and  do  you  honor  anl 
promise  to  keep  and  perform  her  external  ceremonies  of  piety  and 
Christian  rites,  and  all  her  requirements,  as  having  been  received 
by  tradition  from  the  holy  Apostles,  and  the  holy  fathers  who 
succeeded  them  .'" 

8.  "Do  you  confess  and  receive,  that  in  the  Holy  Church 
there  are  different  offices  and  grades  of  authority  successively 
rising,  as  reader,  deacon,  priest,  bishop,  catholicos  ;  and  that  the 


276  APPENDIX. 

catholicoses  and  patriarchs  of  every  nation  are  Christ's  vice- 
gerents, to  rule  the  Holy  Church,  and  govern  her  in  due  order. 
But  should  the  life  of  one  of  these  shepherds  be  vicious,  the 
church  governed  by  him  does  not  thereby  err  in  the  least,  and  no 
blot  comes  upon  the  universal  church  ?" 

9.  "  Do  you  anathematize  and  withdraw  from  that  man  and 
that  society  who  preaches  that  error  has  entered  into  the  faith 
unitedly  received  by  the  universal  church,  saying  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  has  taught  me  so,  and  thus  represents  his  own  instigating 
spirit  of  error  as  Grod  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  '  trusting  to  that,  calls 
the  Holy  Mother  of  God  the  mother  of  Christ,  and  denies  her 
perpetual  virginity,  and  esteeming  the  worship  offered  to  the 
Holy  Cross,  and  the  honor  paid  to  the  relics  of  saints,  and  to 
anointed  pictures,  and  the  reception  of  the  intercession  of  the 
saints  with  God,  as  idolatry,  calls  Christ's  Holy  Church  idolatrous, 
and  rejects  her  ceremonies  of  piety,  and  all  her  requisitions,  as 
superstitious,  and  limits  God's  infinite  power  by  not  receiving  his 
working  of  miracles.'  (See  §  6.)  The  followers  of  such  error 
do  you  anathematize,  reject,  and  altogether  withdraw  from,  as 
impious  blasphemers  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  enemies  of  God 
and  all  his  saints  ?" 

Those  who  subscribed  affixed  their  names  to  the  following  form 
of  reception  : 

"  These  nine  are  the  articles  of  faith  of  the  Armenian  Church, 
which  every  Armenian  is  bound  to  receive. 

"  Of  the  above  questions,  whatever  truths  are  found  in  them 
to  be  confessed  and  acknowledged,  I  profess  and  acknowledge, 
and  believe  them  all,  in  accordance  with  the  Holy  Church  ;  and 
whatever  is  to  be  rejected  and  anathematized,  and  cast  away  as 
error  and  ungodliness,  I  reject, and  anathematize,  and  cast  away; 
and  I  believe  that  the  Holy  Catholic  Church  of  Christ  is  the  only 
pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth,  and  whoever  is  out  of  the  Church 
is  not  an  heir  of  salvation.     Feb.  4,  1846."     (0.  S.) 


APPENDIX.  *277 

E 

DECLARATION    OP    REASONS    FOR    ORGANIZING    PROTESTANT 
CHURCHES. 

"  We,  Evangelical  Christians  of  the  Armenian  nation,  believing 
that  the  true  foundation  and  perfect  rule  of  Christian  faith  is  the 
Holy  Scriptures  alone,  have  cast  away  from  us  those  human  tra- 
ditions and  ceremonies  which  are  opposed  to  the  rules  of  the 
Bible,  but  which  our  National  Church  requires.  And  furthermore, 
without  having  had  the  least  intention  of  separating  from  it,  we 
have  been  united  together  for  the  special  purpose  of  enlightening 
and  reforming  this  Church.  And  since  we  receive  entire  the 
Nicene  creed  of  the  Church,  and  also  since  up  to  the  present  time 
no  creed,  embracing  particularly  these  human  traditions,  has  been 
framed  and  enjoined  upon  the  members  of  the  Armenian  Church 
as  necessary  to  be  received,  we  could  be  considered  as  regular 
members  of  the  National  Church  by  simply  receiving  the  ancient 
(Nicene)  creed.  But  in  the  year  1846,  Bishop  Matteos,  Patri- 
arch of  the  Armenians,  has  invented  a  new  creed,  embracing 
particularly  these  human  traditions,  and  he  has  insisted  upon  our 
accepting  and  subscribing  it. 

'*  But  we,  obeying  God  rather  than  man,  have  not  received  it ; 
on  account  of  which  he  has  cast  us  out  of  the  Church,  and  ana- 
thematized us  particularly  and  publicly  by  name  ;  and,  according 
to  his  ability,  he  has  also  inflicted  upon  us  material  injuries.  We 
had  indeed,  previous  to  this,  suffered  persecution  of  different 
kinds  for  our  religious  opinions ;  as,  for  instance,  about  seven 
years  ago,  several  of  us  were  sent  into  exile  ;  and  also,  within 
about  two  years,  some  have  been  banished,  some  put  in  prison, 
some  fined,  some  bastinadoed,  &c.  ;  yet  since  the  present  Patri- 
arch rejected  us  by  excommunication  from  the  Church,  he  has 
inflicted  on  us  generally  various  additional  bodily  penalties.  Thus, 
for  several  months,  all  the  shops  of  the  Evangelical  Armenians 
were  closed ;  some  were  unwilliDgly  separated  from  their  homes 
13 


278  APPENDIX. 

and  parents ;  and  some  even  from  their  wives  and  husbands ; 
bakers  and  water-carriers  were  forbidden  to  bring  either  bread  or 
water  ;  and  to  the  extent  of  his  ability,  he  strove,  by  every  species 
of  bodily  infliction,  to  compel  us  to  receive  and  sign  his  new  con- 
fession of  faith. 

"  And  although,  by  the  interposed  protection  of  the  powerful 
Ottoman  Government,  he  has  been  prevented  from  continuing 
this  severity  of  persecution,  he  has  to  this  day,  every  day  on  the 
Sabbath,  repeated  the  command  to  the  Armenian  people  not  to 
receive  us  into  their  houses  or  shops,  or  even  to  look  upon  us. 
And  finally,  after  all  these  things,  he  has  issued  a  new  bull,  and 
caused  it  to  be  read  in  all  the  churches  on  the  day  of  the  Catholic 
Church  festival ;  which  bull  of  excommunication  and  anathema  is 
also  to  be  read  in  all  the  churches  throughout  the  Ottoman  Em- 
pire, every  year  successively,  at  this  same  festival.  Thus  he  cuts 
us  off,  and  casts  us  out  forever  from  the  National  Church,  by  the 
standing  order  and  high  authority  of  this  bull. 

"  And  now  it  being  evident  that  we  cannot  be  in  fellowship 
with  the  Armenian  Church  without  receiving  human  traditions 
and  rites,  which,  being  contrary  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  we 
cannot  receive ;  we,  therefore,  by  the  grace  and  mercy  of 
God,  following  the  doctrine  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and 
obeying  the  Gospel,  and  consequently  being  members  of  his 
one  Catholic  and  Apostolical  Church,  do  now  rightfully  and 
justly  constitute  ourselves  into  a  Church  with  the  following  con- 
fession of  faith." 


PLAN    OF    CHURCH    ORGANIZATION    FOR    THE    EVANGELICAL 

ARMENIANS. 

The  following  plan  of  organization  for  the  Evangelical  Armenian 
Church,  is  presented  at  the  particular  request  of  the  Armenian 


APPENDIX.  279 

brethren,  and  with  the  special  understanding  on  our  part,  that 
■we  merely  suggest  and  advise,  and  would  by  no  means  dictate^  in 
such  a  matter,  or  claim  the  least  authority  over  them. 

1.  The  officers  of  the  Evangelical  Armenian  Church,  shall 
consist  of  ciders  or  bishops,  (called  also  pastors,  &c.,)  and  deaconSj 
to  be  chosen  by  the  male  members  of  the  church,  and  set  apart  by 
prayer  and  the  imposition  of  hands. 

2.  In  the  first  Evangelical  Armenian  church  in  Constantinople, 
there  shall  be,  for  the  present,  one  elder  or  bishop,  and  two 
deacons  ;  it  being  understood  that  the  number  of  either  may  here- 
after be  increased,  as  circumstances  demand. 

3.  Inasmuch  as  discipline,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  (1  Cor. 
V.  4,  and  2  Cor.  ii.  6, )  belongs  not  to  the  clergy  alone,  but,  with 
them,  to  the  people  ;  and  inasmuch  as  it  is  not  always  convenient 
nor  expedient  for  the  whole  church  to  come  together  for  this  pur- 
pose, they  shall  choose  three  or  more  brethren  as  "  helps,^^ 
^^  governments,^^  (1  Cor.  xii.  28,)  to  form,  with  the  pastor  and 
deacons,  a  church  session  or  standing  committee,  for  the  examina- 
tion of  candidates  for  admission  into  the  church  and  the  adminis- 
tration of  discipline. 

4.  Of  the  church  members  thus  chosen  to  form  the  committee, 
two  shall  be  elected,  in  the  first  instance,  for  the  term  of  one 
year,  and  the  remaining  one  or  more  for  the  term  of  two  years ; 
and  when  these  terms  respectively  expire,  a  new  election  shall 
take  place,  either  of  the  same  or  other  individuals,  who  are  there- 
after to  serve  equally  for  two  years,  it  being  the  object  of  this 
rule  to  secure  a  new  election  of  one  half  the  number,  or  as  near 
one-half  as  may  be,  once  every  year. 

5.  The  first  bishops,  or  pastors,  and  deacons,  chosen  by  the 
church,  shall  be  set  apart  to  their  office  by  prayer  and  the  im- 
position of  hands,  in  the  presence  of  the  church,  by  missionaries 
of  the  American  Board,  and  such  other  ministers  of  Christ  as 
may  be  invited  to  assist ;  it  being  understood  that  this  is  merely 
a  rule  of  present  expediency  and  convenience,  and  also  that 
it   belonf's    to    the   Evangelical   Armenian  Church    to   provide, 


280  APPENDIX. 

thereafter,  for  the  ordination  of  its  own  officers,  according  to  the 
apostolic  example. 

6.  Each  bishop,  or  pastor,  is  to  give  himself  wholly  to  the 
preaching  of  the  word  and  to  prayer ;  to  administer  the  sacra- 
ments ;  to  visit  the  sick  ;  to  give  particular  attention  to  the 
religious  instruction  of  the  congregation,  and,  by  visiting  families 
and  individuals,  and  adapting  his  counsels  to  the  peculiarities  of 
each,  to  promote  in  every  possible  way  the  highest  spiritual 
welfare  of  his  people.  He  is  also  entitled  to  the  sympathy 
and  prayers  of  his  flock,  and  to  receive  from  them  a  competent 
support. 

The  deacons  are  to  have  a  care  over  the  poor  of  the  church, 
and  to  distribute  among  them  the  alms  collected  for  their 
relief,  and  to  assist  the  pastor,  in  all  suitable  ways,  in  spiritual 
duties. 

The  pastor  shall  preside  at  all  meetings  of  the  church,  and  of 
the  standing  committee  or  church  session ;  and,  in  his  absence, 
this  duty  shall  devolve  upon  one  of  the  deacons. 

7.  Baptism  is  to  be  administered  only  to  those  who  give 
credible  evidence  of  true  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  their  house- 
holds. 

8.  Candidates  for  admission  to  the  communion  shall  be  care- 
fully examined  as  to  their  knowledge  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Gos- 
pel and  their  personal  piety  by  the  standing  committee  or  church 
session  ;  and  if  the  result  of  the  examination,  and  of  a  sufficient 
observation  of  the  lives  of  the  individuals,  be  such  as  to  affi)rd 
satisfactory  evidence  of  repentance  toward  God,  and  faith  in  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  implying  a  new  heart,  they  shall  be  proposed 
by  the  pastor,  at  a  regular  meeting  of  the  church,  at  least  two 
weeks  previous  to  the  communion,  and  the  male  members  shall 
be  called  upon  to  vote  on  the  question  of  their  admission. 

9.  This  examination  may  be  dispensed  with  in  cases  where  in- 
dividuals offer  themselves  for  communion,  who,  either  by  letter, 
or  otherwise,  are  known  to  be  regular  and  consistent  members  of 
eister  churches  of  Christ. 


:^i«i 

«j^ 


m- 


APPENDIX.  281 

10.  If  no  objections  have  been  made,  the  candidates  proposed 
shall,  on  the  day  of  the  communion,  be  admitted  to  the  full  privi- 
leges of  membership,  on  assenting,  in  the  presence  of  the  whole 
3hurch,  to  the  following  confession  of  faith  and  covenant ;  and 
heir  names  shall  thereafter  be  enrolled  as  communicants  in  the 
•ecords  of  the  church. 

CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

1.  You  believe  in  the  existence  of  one  only  living  and  true  God, 
the  Creator,  Preserver,  and  Governor  of  the  universe  ;  omni- 
potent, omniscient,  omnipresent ;  self-existent,  independent,  im- 
mutable ;  possessed  of  infinite  benevolence,  wisdom,  holiness, 
justice,  mercy,  and  truth,  and  who  is  the  only  proper  object  of 
worship. 

2.  You  believe  that  Grod  exists  in  three  persons,  the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  G-host ;  and  that  these  three  are  one 
God. 

3.  You  believe  that  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment were  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  are  a  revelation  of 
his  will  to  man,  and  the  sufficient  and  only  rule  of  faith  and 
practice. 

4.  You  believe  that  mankind,  in  their  natural  state,  are  desti- 
tute of  holiness,  and  entirely  depraved,  and  justly  exposed  to 
the  Divine  wrath. 

5.  You  believe  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  perfect  God  and 
perfect  man,  is  the  only  Saviour  of  sinners,  and  the  only  mediator 
and  intercessor  between  God  and  man  ;  and  that  by  his  perf 
obedience,  sufferings,  and  death,  he  made  full  atonement  for  s 
so  that  all  who  believe  in  him  will  assuredly  be  saved,  and  tl 
there  is  no  other  sacrifice  for  sin. 

6.  You  believe  that  in  consequence  of  the  uttsr  wickedness  ( 
man,  it  is  necessary  that  all  should  be  regenerated  by  the  pow 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  order  to  be  saved. 

7.  You  believe  that  we  are  justified  by  the  righteousness  o 
Christ  alone,  through  faith,  and  not  by  any  fastings,  alms,  penance 


283  APPENDIX. 

or  other  deeds  of  our  own  ;  and  tliat  while  good  works  are  in- 
separable from  true  faith,  they  can  never  be  the  meritorious  ground 
of  salvation  before  God. 

8.  You  believe  that  holiness  of  life,  and  a  conscientious  dis- 
charge of  the  various  duties  we  owe  to  God,  to  our  fellow  men, 
and  to  ourselves,  are  not  only  constantly  binding  upon  all  be- 
lievers, but  essential  to  the  Christian  character. 

9.  You  believe  that,  besides  God,  no  other  being  is  to  be  wor- 
shipped and  adored,  and  that  each  person  in  the  sacred  Trinity  is 
worthy  of  our  worship,  which,  to  be  acceptable,  must  be  offered 
through  no  other  mediation  than  that  of  Jesus  Christ  alone  ;  and 
that  the  use  of  relics,  pictures,  crosses,  and  images  of  any  sort, 
in  any  act  of  worship,  and  of  the  intercession  of  the  saints, 
is  directly  contrary  to  the  Scriptures,  and  highly  displeasing  to 
God  ;  and  that  prayer  for  the  dead  is  not  authorized  in  the  Word 
of  God. 

10.  You  believe  that  there  will  be  a  resurrection  of  the  dead, 
both  of  the  just  and  of  the  unjust,  and  a  day  of  judgment ;  and 
that  the  happiness  of  the  righteous,  and  the  punishment  of  the 
wicked,  commence  at  death,  and  continue  without  end. 

11.  You  believe  that  any  number  of  believers,  duly  organized, 
constitute  a  church  of  Christ,  of  which  Christ  is  the  only  Head  ; 
and  that  the  only  sacraments  of  Christ's  Church  are  Bajptism 
and  the  Lordh  Supper  ;  the  former  being  the  seal  of  the  cove- 
nant, and  a  sign  of  the  purifying  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  the  token  of  admission  into  the  visible  Church ;  and  the 
latter,  in  showing  forth  by  visible  symbols  the  death  of  Christ, 
being  a  perpetual  memento  of  his  atoning  love,  and  a  pledge  of 
union  and  communion  with  him  and  with  all  true  believers. 

12.  You  believe  that  the  Gospel  is  the  chief  instrument  ap- 
pointed by  Christ  for  the  conversion  of  men  and  for  the  edifica- 
tion of  his  people,  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  his  Church  to  carry 
into  eflfect  the  Saviour's  command,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature." 


APPENDIX.  283 


COVENANT. 


Humbly  hoping  that  you  are  united  to  Christ  by  a  living  faith, 
and  feeling  yourself  [or  yourselves]  under  indispensable  obliga- 
tions to  acknowledge  him  before  men  and  unite  with  his  visible 
Church  ;  you  solemnly  declare,  in  the  presence  of  this  assembly, 
and  before  Grod,  that  you  have  chosen  the  Lord, — Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Spirit, — to  be  your  God,  Saviour,  and  Sanctifier,  and 
the  Holy  Scriptures  to  be  your  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice. 
You  make  an  unreserved  surrender  of  yourself  [or  yourselves,] 
and  whatever  belongs  to  you,  to  the  service  of  God,  promising,  by 
Divine  help,  to  lead  a  life  of  holy  obedience  to  the  will  of  God ; 
keeping  sacredly  his  Sabbaths,  and  observing  conscientiously  the 
rules  of  truth,  honesty,  and  sobriety,  laid  down  in  his  "Word  ;  en- 
deavoring to  promote,  with  all  your  powers,  the  religion  of  Christ 
in  the  world,  and  ever  to  set  an  example  of  justice,  temperance, 
charity,  and  godliness. 

You  further  engage  to  walk  together  with  the  members  of  this 
Church,  as  becomes  those  of  the  same  redeemed  household,  in 
the  exercise  of  Christian  affection,  in  the  discharge  of  Christian 
duty,  and  in  cheerful  submission  to  its  watch  and  discipline. 

Relying  for  assistance  on  the  Holy  Spirit,  you  make  these 
solemn  declarations  and  promises,  in  the  presence  of  this  assembly, 
and  before  God  himself,  the  Searcher  of  all  hearts,  and  the  Judge 
of  all  the  world  ? 

[To  which  the  candidate  is  to  give  a  token  of  assent.  The 
members  of  the  church  then  rise,  and  the  minister  says :] 

We  then  affectionately  receive  you  to  the  fellowship  of  this 
church,  promising  to  watch  over  you  with  Christian  tenderness 
and  fidelity,  and,  in  all  respects,  to  conduct  towards  you  that 
friendship  and  brotherly  kindness  which  your  sacred  relation 
to  us  demands ;  always  praying  that  you  and  we  may  at  laat  be 
presented  faultless  before  our  Lord,  with  exceeding  joy.     Amen. 

[Then  follows  a  short  prayer.] 


284  APPENDIX. 


DISCIPLINE. 


Discipline  is  the  application  of  such  laws  as  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  has  appointed  to  his  Church  for  the  removal  of  offences, 
the  preservation  of  the  purity  and  edification  of  the  Church,  and 
also  the  benefit  of  the  ofiender. 

Rule  1 .  All  Christian  discipline  is  spiritual ;  and  nothing  shall 
be  admitted  as  matter  of  accusation,  or  considered  an  offence, 
•which  cannot  be  proved  to  be  such  from  the  Scriptures. 

2.  Private  and  personal  offences  are  not  to  be  laid  immediately 
before  the  church,  but  are  to  be  dealt  with  in  the  manner  pointed 
out  by  our  Saviour  in  Matthew  xviii. 

3.  Notorious  and  scandalous  offences,  and  especially  those 
against  any  of  the  commands  of  the  decalogue,  shall  be  con- 
sidered as  requiring  the  immediate  attention  of  the  standing 
committee. 

4.  Offenders  are  to  be  admonished,  suspended,  or  excommuni- 
cated, according  to  the  nature  of  their  offence,  and  the  dispositions 
they  manifest  in  regard  to  it ;  it  being  understood  that  all  disci- 
pline is  intended  for  the  good  of  the  offender,  and  that  neither 
anathemas  nor  temporal  penalties  can  be  inflicted  by  the  Church 
of  Christ. 

5.  The  trial  of  persons  for  offences  shall  be  conducted  by  the 
standing  committee,  or  church  session,  who,  after  a  thorough  and 
impartial  investigation  of  the  case,  shall  report  their  decision  to 
the  male  members  of  the  church,  with  the  written  evidence  for 
and  against  the  accused,  the  final  sentence  being  passed  by  vote 
of  the  church. 

6.  If  in  any  case  the  church  disapproves  the  decision  of  the 
standing  committee,  and  the  matter  cannot  be  arranged  between 
them,  it  shall  be  referred  to  a  meeting  of  the  pastors  and  delegates 
of  the  associated  churches.  And  if  any  member  feels  aggrieved 
by  the  decision  of  the  standing  committee  and  church,  he  may,  in 
like  manner,  appeal  to  the  same  body,  whose  decision  shall,  in  all 
cases,  be  final. 


APPENDIX.  285 

7.  If  a  minister  shall  be  charged  with  an  offence,  the  standing 
committee  of  the  church,  over  which  he  is  pastor,  or  within  whose 
bounds  he  resides,  shall,  in  a  tender  and  respectful  manner,  ask 
him  for  an  explanation  or  justification  of  his  conduct.  If  they  are 
not  satisfied,  they  shall  lay  the  case  before  the  pastors-  and  dele- 
gates of  the  associated  churches,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  try  the 
accused  minister,  and  if  they  see  cause,  they  shall  have  power  to 
suspend  or  depose  him  from  the  ministry. 

8.  When  a  minister  shall  have  been  deposed,  he  shall  be 
subject  to  the  discipline  of  the  church  to  which  he  belongs,  in  the 
same  way  as  other  private  members. 


G 

TRANSLATION  OF  AN  ORDER,  OBTAINED  FROM  THE  SUBLIME 
PORTE  BY  THE  RIGHT  HONORABLE  LORD  COWLEY,  IN  FAVOR  OF 
THE  sultan's  PROTESTANT  SUBJECTS. 

**  To  His  Excellency^  the  Pasha  Comptroller  of  the  City  Revenue. 

"  Whereas  the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Ottoman  Government 
professing  Protestantism,  have  experienced  diflSculty  and  embar- 
rassment from  not  being  hitherto  under  a  special  and  separate 
jurisdiction,  and  naturally  the  Patriarch  and  the  heads  of  the 
sects  from  which  they  have  separated  not  being  able  to  superin- 
tend their  affairs  ;  and 

"  Whereas  it  is  in  contravention  to  the  supreme  will  of  his  Im- 
perial Majesty  our  Gracious  Lord  and  Benefactor,  (may  God  in- 
crease him  in  years  and  power  !)  animated  as  he  is  with  feelings 
of  deep  interest  and  clemency  towards  all  classes  of  his  subjects, 
that  any  of  them  should  be  subjected  to  grievance  ;  and 

''  Whereas  the  aforesaid  Protestants,  in  conformity  with  the 
creed  professed  by  them,  do  form  a  separate  community  : 

"  It  is  his  Imperial  Majesty's  supreme  will  and  command  that 
13* 


286  APPENDIX.  W 

for  the  sole  purpose  of  facilitating  their  affairs,  and  of  securing 
the  welfare  of  said  Protestants,  the  administration  thereof  should 
be  henceforward  confided  to  Your  Excellency,  together  with  the 
allotment  of  the  taxes  to  which  they  are  subjected  by  law  :  that 
you  do  keep  a  separate  register  of  their  births  and  deaths  in  the 
Bureau  of  your  Department,  according  to  the  system  observed 
with  regard  to  the  Latin  subjects  :  that  you  do  issue  passports 
and  permits  of  marriage  :  and  that  any  person  of  established 
character  and  good  conduct  chosen  by  them  to  appear  as  their 
agent  at  the  Porte  for  the  transaction  and  settlement  of  their  cur- 
rent affairs,  be  duly  appointed  for  that  purpose. 

"  Such  are  the  Imperial  Commands,  which  you  are  to  obey  to 
the  letter. 

"  But  although  passports  and  the  allotment  of  taxes  are  placed 
under  special  regulations  which  cannot  be  infringed  upon,  you 
will  be  careful  that,  in  pursuance  of  his  Majesty's  desire,  no  taxes 
be  exacted  from  the  Protestants  for  permits  of  marriage  and  xq- 
gistration  ;  that  any  necessary  assistance  and  facility  be  afforded  to 
them  in  their  current  affairs  ;  that  no  interference  whatever  be  per- 
mitted in  their  temporal  or  spiritual  concerns  on  the  part  of  the 
Patriarch,  Monks  or  Priests  of  other  Sects ;  but  that  they  be 
enabled  to  exercise  the  profession  of  their  creed,  in  security,  and 
that  they  be  not  molested  one  iota,  either  in  that  respect,  or  in 
any  other  way  whatever." 

(SignedJ  "  Reshid,  Grand  Vezir.^' 

November  15,  1847. 


PI      ^^^  APPENDIX.  287 

H 

LETTER  TO    HER    BRITANNIC    MAJESTy's    MINISTER    AT    THE    SUB- 


i 


LIME  PORTE,  FROM  THE  MISSIONARIES  OF  THE  AMERICAN 
BOARD  OF  COMMISSIONERS  FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS  AT  CON- 
STANTINOPLE. 

Pera,  Dec.  21,  1847. 
To  his  Excellency  the  Right  HonoraUe  Lord  Cowley,  H.  B.  M. 
Minister  Plenipotentiary  at  the  Sublime  Porte,  8fc.  8^c.  8fc. 

My  Lord, — TVe,  the  undersigned,  missionaries  of  the  Ameri- 
can Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  resident  in  Constantinople,  beg 
leave  to  offer  to  your  Lordship  our  sincere  congratulations  on  the 
successful  termination  of  your  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  Protestant 
subjects  of  the  Porte. 

In  view  of  the  difficulties  of  the  case,  we  are  constrained  to  re- 
gard the  happy  results  obtained  by  means  of  your  Lordship's  per- 
severing and  benevolent  endeavors,  as  having  been  secured  only 
through  the  special  interposition  of  an  overruling  Providence ; 
which  of  itself  must  afford  ground  to  your  Lordship  for  the  most 
gratifying  reflections.  The  good  actually  accomplished  to  the 
present  generation  is  probably  far  greater  than  even  the  most  san- 
guine among  us  dares  now  to  hope  ;  while  its  wide  and  happy  in- 
fluence on  generations  to  come,  of  the  different  races  in  this  land, 
is  known  only  to  Him  who  sees  the  end  from  the  beginning. 

Through  the  humane  interposition  of  his  Excellency,  Sir  Strat- 
ford Canning,  the  Protestant  subjects  of  Turkey  found  substan- 
tial relief  from  the  persecutions  under  which  they  were  then 
suffering  ;  and  since,  by  the  untiring  efforts  of  your  Lordship,  the 
very  important  point  has  been  conceded  for  them,  that  in  regard 
to  liberty  of  conscience  and  the  enjoyment  of  civil  rights,  they 
shall  be  placed  on  the  same  footing  with  all  other  Christian  sub- 
jects of  tlie  Porte. 

The  record  of  this  event  will  be  a  bright  page  in  the  history  of 
this  country,  redounding  to  the  honor  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty's 


^j" 


288  APPENDIX. 

• 

present  government,  whom  God  has  disposed  to  adopt  so  benevo- 
lent a  line  of  policy ;  as  well  as  of  your  Lordship,  its  honorable 
representative,  who  has  been  the  immediate  instrument  of  so 
great  a  blessing. 

We  take  this  opportunity  of  expressing  to  your  Lordship  our 
sincere  regret,  that,  (as  we  have  been  informed,)  you  are  likely 
to  be  called  to  leave  this  capital  at  no  very  distant  day  ;  and  we 
beg  to  assure  you,  that  it  will  be  our  fervent  prayer  to  God,  that 
his  protection  and  blessing  may  always  accompany  your  Lordship 
in  whatever  part  of  this  world  your  lot  may  be  cast. 

With  the  renewed  assurance  of  our  highest  respect  and  esteem, 
we  subscribe  ourselves. 

Your  Lordship's  humble  and  obedient  servants, 
(Signed)  W.  GOODELL, 

H   G.  0.  DWIGHT, 

W.  G.  SCAUFFLER, 

H.  A.  HOMES, 

C.  HAMLIM, 

G.  W.  WOOD, 

H.  J.  VAN  LENNEP, 

J.  S.  EVERETT. 


LETTER  FROM  HER  BRITANNIC  MAJESTy's  MINISTER  AT  CONSTAN- 
TINOPLE, THE  RIGHT  HONORABLE  LORD  COWLEY,  TO  THE 
MISSIONARIES     OF    THE    AMERICAN    BOARD    IN    THAT    CITY. 

Therapis,  {Constantinople,)  Dec.  28,  1847. 

Rev.  William  Goodell  : 

Rev.  Sir, — ^I  have  received  the  letter  which  you  and  your 
reverend  brethren  did  me  the  honor  to  address  me  on  the  21st 
inst.,  and  I  beg  to  return  you  my  most  cordial  thanks  for  the  con- 
gartulations  which  it  offers  on  the  successful  termination  of  my 


APPENDIX.  289 

poor  endeavors  in  behalf  of  the  Protestant  subjects  of  the  Sub- 
lime Porte.  I  shall  not  fail  to  bring  to  the  knowledge  of  Her 
Majesty's  Government  and  of  her  Majesty's  Ambassador,  the 
sense  which  you  entertain  of  the  efforts  which  they  have  made  in 
the  same  cause. 

Permit  me  also  to  take  this  opportunity  of  publicly  stating, 
how  much  the  Protestants  owe  to  you  and  to  the  Society  which 
sent  you  here.  I  gladly  give  my  testimony  to  the  zeal,  prudence, 
and  patience  which  have  characterized  all  your  proceedings  in 
this  country,  and  to  which  I  attribute  much  of  the  success  that 
has  crowned  our  joint  endeavors. 

We,  however,  are  but  mere  instruments  in  the  hands  of  a 
higher  Power  ;  though  perhaps  to  you,  reverend  sir,  it  ill  becomes 
me  to  make  the  observation.  To  that  same  Power,  then,  let  us 
recommend  the  future  interests  of  the  emancipated  community. 

I  thank  you  most  sincerely  for  your  good  wishes  in  my  behalf, 
and  for  your  kind  expressions  of  regret  at  my  approaching  de- 
parture from  this  country.  Be  assured  that  I  shall  always  feel 
a  lively  interest  in  your  further  progress,  and  that  in  whatever 
part  of  the  world  I  may  be,  I  shall  always  endeavor  to  keep  my- 
self informed  of  your  proceedings. 

I  would  fain  say  one  word  before  parting,  on  the  necessity  of 
you  and  all  your  reverend  brethren  continuing  to  use  all  your  influ- 
ence to  prevent  further  quarrels  between  the  Protestants  and  the 
Church  from  which  they  are  seceders.  Let  no  signs  of  triumph 
on  their  part  irritate  or  offend — persuade  them  to  bear  the  taunts 
and  jeers,  nay,  even  the  insults,  to  which  they  may  be  exposed, 
with  patience  and  forbearance — urge  them  to  abstain  from  dis- 
turbing the  peace  and  tranquillity  of  other  families,  by  any  undue 
desire  of  obtaining  proselytes — let  them  respect  the  religioua 
creed  of  others,  as  they  desire  their  own  to  be  respected,  and  thus 
they  will  prosper. 

And  it  may  be  hoped,  that  the  faith  which  they  have  adoj)tedo 
will,  under  God's  blessing,  spread  wider  and  wider,  until  it  shab 
13 


290  APPENDIX. 

find  a  home  wherever  there  is  a  Christian  population  in  this  em- 
pire. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Keverend  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 
(Signed)  COWLEY. 


DATE  DUE 

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